Cibrarjp  of  Che  Cheolo^icd  ^tminavy 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 


PRESENTED  BY 

the  Estate   of 

Rp"       nQTr^/q    U^v-LrloY»o/?Lja^JiQAr?w1  111  e 
BR    785    .B68    1869  ; 

Breed,    William  P.    1816-1889] 
Jenny  Geddes,    or, 
Presbyterianism  and   its 


OCT  15  1S45 

Jenny  GrEDDEir 


-^'^'.OfilCALSB 


>^\^ 


OR 


PRESBYTEPvIANISM 


AND  ITS  GREAT 


CONFLICT  WITH  DESPOTISM. 


Rev.  W.  p.  3PvEED.  D.D 


PHILADELPHIA : 

PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD  OF  PUBLICATION, 

No.  821  CUESTNUT  STREET. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1869,  by 

THE   TRUSTEES   OP   THE 

PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD  OF  PUBLICATION, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the   United  States  for  the 
Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


Westcott  &  Thomson, 

Stkbeotypers,  Philada. 


CO]^TE]SrTS, 


I. 

PAOE 

Jenny  Geddes  and  her  Stool 9 

II. 
The  Church 23 

III. 
Church  and  State 155 

IV. 

The  Great  Conflict  Between  Them 189 

1.  The  Battle-field 191 

2.  The  Invasion 202 

3.  The  Victim  and  his  Victor 208 

4.  John  Knox 214 

5.  Organization 226 

6.  The  Apparition 229 

7.  Republicanism 233 

8.  The  General  Assembly 240 

9.  Mary  Queen  of  Scots 248 

10.  Knox  on  Trial 255 

11.  Presbyterianism  Nationalized 262 

3 


4  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

12.  The  Tiilchans 279 

13.  The  Melvilles 3U0 

H.  James  VI 313 

15.  Clouds,  Storm,  Smishine 329 

16.  God's  Silly  Vassal 344 

17.  The  Kirk  Under  the  Heel  of  the  King 366 

18.  The  Black  Saturday 388 

19.  The  Death  of  James 408 

20.  Charles  I 416 

21.  The  Mine  Preparing 431 

22.  The  Impending  Crisis 446 

23.  The  Explosion 456 


A  WORD  TO  THE  READER. 


This  volume,  in  tlie  aim  and  intent  of  the  writer,  is 
much  more  expository  than  polemical.  Its  object  is  to 
illustrate  the  character  of,  and  to  call  attention  to,  the 
service  rendered  to  the  cause  of  God  and  man  bj'  the 
church  system  to  which  we  hold,  and  not  to  attack  other 
sister  evangelical  denominations.  With  them  we  have  no 
quarrel.  On  the  contrary,  when  we  consider  how  God 
has  blessed  them — how  many  godly  ones  have  lived,  la- 
boured and  died  among  them — how  many  souls  have  been 
converted  through  their  instrumentality,  and  thus  the  ser- 
vice rendered  by  them  to  our  common  Christianity — we 
are  constrained  to  bid  them  God-speed.  At  the  same 
time  holding,  as  we  assuredly  do,  that  our  Presbyterian 
system  comes  nearest  of  all  to  the  scriptural  standard,  to 
the  pattern  showed  in  the  mount,  and  that  it  is  therefore 
best  adapted  for  the  nourishment  and  defence  of  the  faith, 
we  desire,  as  far  as  we  may,  to  lead  its  adherents  to  deeper 
insight  into  its  validity,  to  higher  admiration  of  its  beauty, 
and  to  greater  enthusiasm  in  its  maintenance  and  propa- 
gation. 


6  PREFACE. 

It  has  long  been  our  conviction  that  one  subject  upon 
which  the  common  mass  of  Presbyterians  need  information 
is  Presbj^terianism— its  distinctive  character  as  an  ecclesi- 
astical system,  and  its  history.  We  are  persuaded  that  a 
more  thorough  acquaintance  with  it  would  tend,  not  only 
to  awaken  the  great  body  of  its  adherents  from  a  sleepy 
assent  to  its  validity,  but  to  powerfully  confirm  them  in 
their  allegiance,  and  even  to  enkindle  them  to  enthusiastic 
admiration.  The  facility  with  which,  now  and  then,  one 
and  another  of  its  children  pass  into  other  Christian  folds, 
the  easy  carelessness  with  which  parents  allow  their  chil- 
dren to  be  drawn  away  from  the  Church  of  their  birth 
demonstrate  a  sad  ignorance  of  the  system  for  which  their 
fathers  fought  and  bled  and  died.  Recognizing  other  de- 
nomination^ as  sound  in  general  evangelical  faith,  they  fail 
to  see  that  outside  of  all  such  questions  lies  the  great 
question  of  church  government,  which,  when  scriptural, 
is  the  divinely-appointed  conservator  of  sound  doctrine, 
and  when  unscriptural  tends  to  impair,  and  often  sadly 
corrupts  it,  and  very  often  betrays  it  to  its  foes.  While 
a  Presbyterian  may  himself  live  a  holy  life  in  another  fold, 
he  has  more  to  do  than  simply  to  live  and  die  safely.  He 
is  bound  to  consider  the  force  of  his  example  upon  others ; 
bound  to  lend  his  influence  to  the  upholding  of  that  ex- 
ternal form  of  church  polity  which,  while  it  shields  ortho- 
doxy in  doctrine   from   destructive   assault,   best    fosters 


PREFACE.  7 

piety  in  the  heart,  and  trains  it  up  toward  its  loftiest 
ideal. 

It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  as  the  sweet  chestnut 
always,  so  ecclesiastical  history  is  almost  always,  shut  up 
in  hirsute  burs — the  burs  of  a  rigid  scientific  treatment — 
putting  it  out  of  the  reach  of  all  but  the  highly  cultivated, 
and  generally  making  its  perusal  by  them  more  a  matter 
of  duty  than  of  pleasure.  And  among  the  objects  for 
which  the  Church  should  devoutly  and  ardently  pray  is 
the  raising  up  of  some  Prescott,  Motley,  Macaulay,  Ban- 
croft, or  Froude,  to  clothe  her  history  in  the  winning  forms 
of  a  fascinating  diction  and  style  of  handling,  and  thus 
furnish  her  thrilling  facts  with  wings  on  which  to  fly  iato 
the  welcoming  doors  of  the  general  mind. 

In  the  mean  time,  we  have  put  forth  this  very  humble 
effort  to  group  together  some  of  the  facts  and  principles 
of  our  Presbyterianism — not  to  instruct  the  erudite  or  to 
bring  forth  new  treasures  from  original  sources,  but,  if  we 
may,  to  awaken  some  new  interest  in  at  least  a  few  minds 
among  the  masses  of  our  people  in  a  subject  second  to 
few  in  legitimate  claim  to  their  attention  and  study.  Our 
book  opens  and  closes  with  the  scene  at  St.  Giles,  Edin- 
burgh, in  which  Jenny  Geddes  and  her  stool  figured  so 
conspicuously.  And  as  this  scene  exhibits  the  culmination 
of  a  long,  sharp  conflict  between  Church  and  State,  we  have 
first  drawn  an  outline  of  church  government  as  generally 


8  PREFACE. 

accepted  by  Presbyterians,  and  of  the  relations  that  prop- 
erly subsist  between  the  Church  and  the  State,  at  once 
separating  and  uniting  them ;  adding  also  a  sketch  of 
Scottish  church-history — the  story  of  that  memorable  con- 
flict in  which  Presbyterianism  fought  so  manfully  the  bat- 
tle of  both  the  Church  and  the  world.  With  painful  con- 
sciousness of  the  imperfection  of  the  work  attempted,  the 
writer  still  hopes  that  it  may  prove  the  seed  of  some 
salutary  fruit. 

Philadelphia,  Nov.,  1868. 


JENNY  GEDDES  AND  HER  STOOL. 

9 


JENNY  GEDDES 


JENNY  GEDDES  AND   HER  STOOL. 

RITERS  of  human  annals  have  been  accus- 
tomed to  divide  their  subjects  into  two 
general  classes.  The  one  comprises  those 
which  are  truly  and  in  themselves  in  a 
high  sense  historic,  affecting  widely  and  power- 
fully the  interests  of  men  and  nations.  The  other 
embraces  agencies  and  events  whose  significance 
is  too  trivial,  whose  influence  is  too  feeble  or 
plays  in  too  narrow  a  circle  to  entitle  them  to 
any  marked  place  upon  the  historic  page. 

It  is  evident,  however,  that  events  exceedingly 
minute  in  themselves  may,  by  the  force  they  bor- 
row from  circumstances,  the  principles  they  sym- 
bolize, the  incidents  to  which  they  give  rise,  or 
the  interests  they  come  to  affect,  emerge  into  true 

historic  dignity, 

11 


12  JENNY  GEDDES. 

Thus  history  has  not  disdained  to  record  that 
in  the  infancy  of  the  Massachusetts  colony,  Canon- 
icus,  tlie  Iiaughty  chief  of  the  Naragansetts,  sent 
to  Plymouth  a  bundle  of  arrows  bound  together 
with  the  skin  of  a  rattlesnake,  and  that  Governor 
Bradford  filled  the  skin  with  powder  and  shot  and 
sent  it  back  to  his  Indian  majesty.  Not  that 
either  Indian  or  arrows,  powder  or  shot,  or  their 
exchange  was  a  matter  of  any  moment,  but  in  this 
case  the  affair  was  a  declaration  of  war  on  the  one 
hand  and  an  acceptance  of  the  challenge  on  the 
other — a  war  which,  had  it  been  prosecuted,  might 
liave  annihilated  either  an  Indian  tribe  or  the  in- 
fant colony  in  which  lay  embosomed  a  nation  and 
a  civilization. 

A  few  words  from  the  lips  of  a  monarch  are 
in  themselves  no  more  than  the  shaking  of  a  leaf 
in  the  wind,  but  spoken  in  the  ear  of  a  foreign 
ambassador  at  his  court  may  not  only  shock  the 
finances  of  a  continent,  but  may  bring  nations  into 
hostile  and  bloody  collision. 

The  advent  of  a  little  seed  upon  the  shore  of 
some  island  in  the  sea  is  in  itself  an  event  lost 
in  its  own  insignificance.  But  if  that  seed  em- 
bosom the  germ  of  some  nutritious  fruit,  and, 
springing  up  into  j^rolific  maturity,  in  the  course 


HER  STOOL.  13 

of  years  reproduce  its  kind  until  the  whole  island 
is  supplied  with  its  productions,  its  landing  on 
those  shores  comes  to  be  an  event  of  historic  mag- 
nitude and  importance.  Its  fruit  may  not  only 
feed  thousands  of  native  islanders,  but,  becoming 
an  article  of  commerce,  enrich  them,  build  them 
houses,  improve  their  domestic  habits,  cover  their 
nakedness  with  comely  habiliments  and  clothe  the 
island  in  the  rich  attire  of  an  advanced  civiliza- 
tion. Nay,  more,  it  may  awaken  the  cupidity  of 
greedy  foreigners,  and  tempt  the  navies  of  distant 
powers  to  take  forcible  possession  of  those  fertile 
fields,  and  other  powers,  jealous  of  this  intrusion, 
may  protest,  and  follow  their  protest  with  armed 
resistance ;  and  thus  out  of  the  bosom  of  that  little 
seed  shall  grow  events  the  record  of  which  shall 
fill  many  a  bloody  page  of  human  history. 

The  personage  named  upon  our  title-page  was 
one  of  so  humble  a  rank  in  life,  of  such  grade  of 
intellectual  powder  and  culture,  and  of  such  general 
insignificance,  that  the  mention  of  her  as  a  subject 
of  discourse  might  seem  only  an  excuse  for  literary 
trifling.  She  was  the  consort  of  no  monarch — the 
daughter  of  no  queenly  or  titled  mother.  She  was 
no  cultivated  Aspasia,  fit  to  lecture  on  eloquence 
in  the  presence  of  a  Socrates  and  captivate  the 


14  JENNY  GEDDES. 

heart  of  a  Pericles.  Neither  was  she  a  Hannah 
More,  nor  a  Florence  Nightingale,  nor  a  brilliant 
beauty,  dazzling  the  eyes  of  some  royal  court. 
Far  from  it ;  and  yet,  if  we  mistake  not,  it  will 
be  found  that  the  part  she  played  in  life's  drama, 
though  of  a  very  humble  and  uncouth  sort,  was, 
if  not  a  prolific  cause,  at  least  the  symbol  and 
instrument  of  principles  and  events  second  in 
importance  to  very  few  in  the  course  of  human 
history. 

Jenny  (or  Janet)  Geddes  was  a  Scotch  woman, 
a  native  of  that  land  of  great  minds  and  heroic 
champions  of  Calvinistic  orthodoxy.  Born  per- 
haps about  the  close,  before  or  after,  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  toward  the  middle  of  the  seven- 
teenth she  found  herself  a  resident  of  the  city  of 
Edinburgh.  No  doubt  her  position  in  life  was 
very  humble — her  food  and  raiment,  perhaps  of 
the  coarsest  kind,  procured  by  the  labour  of  her 
own  hands. 

Whether  this  was  her  maiden  or  matrimonial 
name  history  does  not  say.  She  was  certainly 
poor,  for  in  the  great  cathedral  church  of  St.  Giles 
there  was  no  place  for  her  in  the  pew,  if  indeed 
these  conveniences  had  yet  found  place  there;  so 
she  went  to  church  with  her  stool  in  her  hand, 


HER  STOOL.  15 

and  sat  upon  it  in  the  aisle  wherever  she  could 
find  a  convenient  and  unoccupied  spot. 

She  was  evidently  a  person  of  decided  character, 
and  did  her  own  thinking,  at  least  on  certain  sub- 
jects ;  and  as  the  sequel  will  show  could,  upon 
occasion,  without  consultation  with  her  husband, 
if  indeed  she  were  blessed  with  matrimonial  alli- 
ance with  any  one  of  the  rougher  sex,  do  her  own 
acting  also,  and  that  with  decision  and  energy. 
She  was  a  Presbyterian  of  the  orthodox  hue,  and, 
familiar  with  her  Bible,  she  demanded  conformity 
to  its  teachings  in  all  matters  of  faith  and  worship. 

It  was  in  the  month  of  July — a  month  since 
become  so  memorable  in  the  history  of  human 
freedom — on  the  twenty-third  day  of  the  month, 
that  Jenny  emerged  from  domestic  obscurity  to 
historic  celebrity  and  renown.  On  that  day  there 
w^as  a  strange  ferment  throughout  Scotland  and 
a  wild  excitement  in  the  city  of  Edinburgh. 
King  Charles  had  resolved  to  make  Presbyterian- 
ism  give  place  to  Prelacy  throughout  the  realm. 
A  book  of  canons  had  been  prepared  subversive 
of  the  whole  system  of  Presbyterian  government, 
and  had  been  enjoined  upon  the  realm  by  procla- 
mation upon  the  king's  simple  prerogative.  Fol- 
lowing this  book  came  a  liturgy  as  a  law  of  public 


16  *  JENNY  GEDDES. 

worship,  and  a  royal  edict  bad  commanded  its 
introduction  into  all  the  churches  of  the  realm  on 
this  memorable  Sabbatb  day.  Notice  to  this  effect 
bad  been  given  the  Sabbath  before,  and  hence  this 
intense  excitement.  For  the  Scottish  people  knew 
that  if  this  measure  were  carried  into  effect  by 
the  authorities,  Presbyterianism  was  virtually  in 
its  grave. 

As  the  hour  of  Sabbath  service  approached,  the 
streets  of  Edinburgh  were  thronged  with  crowds  of 
jjeople — every  bosom  throbbing,  every  eye  flaming 
with  excitement.  But  whither  were  they  directing 
their  steps?  Conspicuous  from  many  a  point  in 
the  city  of  Edinburgh  is  a  lofty  tower,  terminating 
in  an  open,  carved  stonework,  with  arches  spring- 
ing from  tlie  four  corners  and  meeting  together  at 
the  top  in  the  form  of  a  crown.  Already  more 
than  +hree  centuries  were  looking  down  from  that 
tower-top.  It  rose  from  the  centre  of  a  vast  and 
venerable  pile,  including  the  High  Church  at  the 
eastern  end,  Avhere  Knox  so  often  preached,  and 
within  which  pile  '^  forty  altars"  were  at  one  time 
supported.  It  was  thither  mainly  the  crowds  were 
pressing,  and  among  them  Jenny  Geddes.  Not 
being  overburdened  with  modesty,  she  elbowed 
her  way  through  the  crowd  to  a  convenient  place, 


HER  STOOL.  17 

in  near  proximity  to  the  pulpit,  and  seated  her- 
self on  her  throne. 

The  edifice  was  filled  to  repletion  with  titled 
nobility  and  the  nobler  untitled  nobility  of  the 
Scottish  Presbyterian  masses.  There  were  present 
archbishops,  bishops,  the  lords  of  the  session,  the 
magistrates  of  the  city,  members  of  the  council, 
"  chief  captains  and  principal  men,"  and  Jenny 
Geddes  and  her  stool. 

The  excitement  was  becoming  every  moment 
more  intense.  The  minutes  dragged  themselves 
along  with  tormenting  tardiness  and  the  suspense 
was  becoming  almost  breathless. 

AVhen  the  feeling  was  wrought  up  to  its  highest 
tension  the  Dean  of  Edinburgh  made  his  appear- 
ance, clad  in  immaculate  surplice,  book  in  hand — 
the  fatal  book  of  the  liturgy  —  the  device  of 
English  Prelacy  for  the  reform  of  Scotch  Pres- 
bytery. The  book  was  opened  and  the  service 
begun. 

The  cup  Avas  now  full,  though  as  yet  no  one 
pretended  to  know,  no  one  dreamed,  what  form 
of  expression  the  pent-up  indignation  of  the  out- 
raged people  would  assume.  The  question  was 
soon  decided. 

No   sooner   had    the   first  words   of  the   book, 


18  JENNY  GEBBES. 

through  the  lips  of  the  clean,  reached  tlie  ear  of 
Jenny,  the  stern  prophetess  on  her  tripod,  than  a 
sudden  inspiration  seized  her.  In  an  instant  she 
was  on  her  feet,  and  her  shrill,  impassioned  voice 
rang  through  the  arches  of  the  cathedral : 

"Villain!  dost  thou  say  mass  in  my  lug?'^  and 
in  another  instant  her  three-legged  stool  was  seen 
on  its  way,  travelling  through  the  air  straight 
toward  the  head  of  the  surpliced  prayer-reader. 

The  astounded  dean,  not  anticipating  such  an 
argument,  dodged  it,  but  the  consequences  he 
could  not  dodge.  He  had  laid  his  book,  as  he 
thought,  upon  a  cushion — the  cushion  proved  a 
hornet's  nest.  In  an  instant  the  assembly  was 
in  the  wildest  uproar.  Hands  were  clapped ; 
hisses  and  loud  vociferations  filled  the  house,  and 
missiles,  such  as  the  hand  could  reach,  filled  the 
air.  A  sudden  rush  was  made  toward  the  pulpit 
by  the  people  in  one  direction,  and  from  the  pul- 
pit by  the  dean  in  the  other. 

On  the  retreat  of  the  dean,  the  Bishop  of  Edin- 
burgh took  his  place  in  the  pulpit,  and  solemnly 
commanded  the  winds  and  waves  to  be  still,  but 
no  calm  followed.  He  was  as  rudely  handled  as 
his  brother  in  o}>pression,  and  nothing  but  a  vig- 
orous onset  of  the  magistrates  saved  his  lawn  and 


HER  STOOL.  19. 

mitre   from   the   rough   hands  of  Jenny   Geddes' 
soldiery. 

At  length,  the  people  having  been  forcibly 
ejected  from  the  house,  the  affrighted  dean  re- 
entered the  pulpit  and  resumed  the  service ;  but 
the  uproar  without,  the  pounding  at  the  doors, 
showers  of  stones  hurled  through  the  windows, 
turned  the  place  into  a  bedlam,  drowned  the  voice 
of  the  dean  and  compelled  a  suspension  of  the 
service. 

When  the  dean  and  the  bishop  came  out  of  the 
church,  decked  in  their  prelatical  plumes,  they 
were  in  no  small  danger  of  being  torn  in  pieces 
by  the  excited,  outraged  masses,  and  were  followed 
through  the  streets  with  the  cries — 

"  Pull  them  down  !  A  pope — a  pope  !  Anti- 
christ— antichrist !" 

The  magistrates  managed  to  keep  the  peace  in 
the  afternoon,  but  when  the  performance  w^as  over 
the  tumult  in  the  streets  was  greater  than  ever. 
The  Earl  of  Roxborough,  returning  with  the 
bishop  in  his  carriage,  was  so  pelted  with  stones 
and  so  pressed  by  the  crowd  that  his  life  was  in 
danger. 

Thus  the  scene  that  opened  with  such  pomp 
and  circumstance  closed  in  discomfiture  and  cha- 


20  JENNY  GEDDES. 

grin.  The  liturgy,  prepared  with  such  care  and 
painstaking,  and  from  which  so  much  was  hoped, 
went  up  like  a  rocket  and  came  down  as  rockets 
are  wont  to  descend.     Here  ended  the  first  lesson. 

Now,  he  would  be  marvellously  astray  who 
should  suppose  that  this  sudden  hurricane  at  St. 
Giles  was  but  a  passing  and  unmeaning  summer 
squall.  It  was  in  truth  the  outburst  of  a  national 
feeling.  A  mighty  ferment  at  this  time  pervaded 
the  national  mhid.  Great  principles  were  at  stake, 
and  the  Scottish  masses,  well  comprehending  their 
nature  and  the  drift  of  events,  were  solemnly  re- 
solv^ed  to  vindicate  their  settled  religious  convic- 
tions in  the  great  controversy  at  whatever  hazard 
and  cost. 

When  that  irregular  band  of  patriots,  dressed 
in  Indian  attire,  marched  through  the  streets  of 
Boston  and  tossed  those  tea-chests  into  the  bay, 
they  at  the  same  time  virtually  tossed  British 
sovereignty  overboard;  and  Jenny  Geddes'  party 
at  St.  Giles  signed  the  death-warrant  of  civil  and 
ecclesiastical  tyranny  in  both  Scotland  and  Eng- 
land !  The  storm  had  been  gathering  for  nearly 
forty  years,  and  this  bursting  of  the  cloud  marked 
a  crisis  in  a  great  national  revolution.  It  was  the 
first  formidable  outbreak  against  the  tyranny  of 


HER  STOOL,  21 

the  Stuarts,  and  Jenny  Geddes'  stool  was  the  first 
shell  sent  screaming  through  the  air  at  those  mer- 
ciless oppressors  of  the  two  realms,  and  the  echoes 
of  that  shell  are  reverberating  to-day  among  the 
hills. 

"Protestantism  was  a  revolt  against  spiritual 
sovereignties,  popes,  and  much  else.  Presbyterian- 
ism  carried  out  the  revolt  against  earthly  sovereign- 
ties and  despotisms.  Protestantism  has  been  called 
the  grand  root  from  which  our  whole  subsequent 
European  history  branches  out;  for  the  spiritual 
will  always  body  itself  forth  in  the  temporal  his- 
tory of  men.  The  spiritual  is  the  beginning  of 
the  temporal.  And  now,  sure  enough,  the  cry  is 
everywhere  for  liberty,  equality,  independence,  and 
so  forth ;  instead  of  kings,  ballot-boxes  and  elec- 
toral suffrages." 


THE  CHURCH. 

23 


II. 

THE  CHURCH. 

I  HE  powers  that  came  into  collision  that  clay 
at  St.  Giles  were  not  merely  a  mob  on  the 
,  one  hand,  and  heady,  imperious  ecclesiastics 
on  the  other,  but  deep-lying  principles  of  civil 
and  ecclesiastical  authority.  That  outbreak  was 
but  one  incident  in  the  protracted  war  between 
Church  and  State — a  war  which  began  centuries 
before,  and  which  is  not  yet  ended.  And  it  has 
been  characterized  by  a  sterner  severity,  has  evoked 
into  play  higher  and  wilder  passions,  has  given 
occasion  for  the  display  of  grander  heroisms  on 
one  hand  and  more  savage  tyrannies  on  the  other, 
than  most  of  the  collisions  between  man  and  man. 
We  now  direct  attention  to  the  Church  as  one  of 
the  great  parties  in  the  conflict. 

"The  Church''  embraces  the  w^hole  body  of 
believers,  in  all  ages  of  the  world.  "  Christ  loved 
the  Church,  and  gave  himself  for  it,"  Eph.  v.  25. 
"A  church"  includes,  sometimes,  a  handful  of  be- 

25 


26  JENNY   GEDBES. 

lievers,  worshiping  or  living  in  a  single  house. 
*' Greet  Priscilla  and  Aquila ;  likewise  the  church 
that  is  in  their  house/'  Kom.  xvi.  5^  6.  But  when 
we  read  of  '"'  the  Church  of  God  which  is  at  Co- 
rinth" (1  Cor.  i.  2),  we  are  confronted  with  a  body 
of  professed  believers,  organized  under  govern- 
mental forms,  with  officers  and  laws,  and  through 
these  possessing  the  unity  of  a  single  body.  And 
in  writing  of  the  Churchy  we  propose  simply  to 
direct  attention  to  the  form  which  cJiurch  govermneiit 
assumed  in  a][)ostolic  times  under  the  teaching  of  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

The  necessity  for  government  among  professed 
believers  in  Christ  arises  from  the  same  sad  fact 
that  compels  the  organization  of  civil  governments 
among  men — namely,  human  depravity. 

True,  indeed,  the  Christian  is  a  new  creature. 
He  has  been  born  again  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit. 
New  views,  new  desires,  new  principles  of  action 
control  the  mind,  and  through  it  the  man. 

But  this  change,  great  as  it  is  in  fact  and  in 
ultimate  consequences,  does  not,  except  when  it 
occurs  in  the  moment  of  death,  upon  the  instant 
transform  man  into  an  angel.  It  only  dej)osits 
in  the  nature  a  new  leaven  to  contend  with  old 
depravities,  and  gradually,  in  the  hand  of  the  Holy 


THE  CHURCH.  27 

Ghost,  to  master  and  finally  expel  all  that  remains 
of  sin  and  depravity.  It  lays  a  basis  for  new 
exercises  and  for  a  new  history.  A  new  life  is 
introduced  into  the  fast-decaying  nature,  wliich 
in  its  movements  calls  into  new  and  healthful 
play  all  the  innate  or  connate  powers  of  the  soul. 
As  the  main  stream  sweeps  along  in  its  current 
the  feebler  tributaries,  so  does  this  new  life  grap- 
ple with  and  carry  along  in  its  heaven-tending 
sweep  all  the  natural  issues  of  the  mental  and 
moral  life.  But  in  this  effort  it  meets  with  stub- 
born and  constant  resistance. 

Were  Christians  perfect,  a  few  simple  rules 
would  suffice  for  the  preservation  of  order  and 
the  harmonious  and  effective  working  of  the  whole 
machinery  of  ecclesiastical  life.  But  the  obvious 
imperfection  of  all,  and  the  inability  of  Christians 
to  read  their  own  hearts,  much  more  the  hearts 
of  others,  open  the  way  for  the  sure  introduction 
of  tares  among  the  wheat — unconverted  members 
to  communion-tables,  unconverted  pastors  into 
pulpits — and  hence  roots  of  bitterness  are  cer- 
tain to  spring  forth,  needing  some  efficient  power 
to  eradicate  them ;  controversies  are  generated 
that  can  be  allayed  only  by  the  strong  arm  of 
authority. 


28  JENNY  GEDDES. 

Hence,  if  the  Church  is  not  to  become  a  mass 
of  decay  and  confusion,  and  sink  to  worse  than 
inefficiency,  there  is  absolute  necessity  for  some 
effective  system  of  government,  to  decide  upon 
the  qualification  of  candidates  for  the  pulpit  and 
the  communion-table,  and  then,  if  need  arise,  to 
discipline  and  eject  the  unfit  and  unfaithful. 

For  want  of  such  government,  many  a  Church, 
once  pure  in  doctrine  and  efficient  in  action,  has 
become  first  an  unsightly  deformity,  then  a  fort- 
ress and  propagandist  of  soul-destroying  heresy, 
and  then  an  utter  ruin.  The  golden  candlestick 
has  been  removed  out  of  its  place  and  a  darkness 
more  dense  than  ever  has  enshrouded  the  people. 
And  even  when  the  evil  has  not  reached  such 
extremes,  in  many  a  noted  instance  a  powerful 
Church  has  become  divided  against  itself;  gross 
errors  in  doctrine  nestling  side  by  side  with  ortho- 
doxy ;  wickedness  and  piety  dwelling  together 
under  the  shadow  of  the  same  altar. 

A  striking  example  of  what  a  Christian  Church 
may  become  through  want  of  anything  like  an 
efficient  system  of  government  and  discipline,  may 
be  seen  in  the  present  condition  of  the  Church  of 
England.  Of  this  venerable,  and  in  many  respects 
noble   Church,  no  Christian    heart  can  desire   to 


THE  CHURCH.  29 

think,  no  Christian  tongue  to  speak,  in  other 
thoughts  and  terms  than  those  of  respect  and 
affection.  She  has  been  too  long  a  main  bulwark 
of  Protestantism ;  her  records  show  too  brilliant 
a  list  of  nanles  respected  for  talent  and  distin- 
guished for  piety ;  she  has  given  too  noble  a  band 
of  martyrs  to  the  flames,  and  has  furnished  our 
libraries  with  too  many  volumes  on  sound  the- 
ology and  practical  piety,  to  be  lightly  treated  with 
disrespect.  But  even  charity  that  covereth  the 
multitude  of  sins  cannot  be  blind  to,  and  ought 
not  to  be  silent  respecting,  the  many  flagrant  de- 
relictions of  even  such  a  Church.  With  an  unex- 
ceptionable creed,  it  is  difficult  to  say  what  forms 
of  heresy  in  doctrine,  and  what  style  of  immorali- 
ties in  life,  both  among  clergy  and  people,  are  not 
at  this  day  to  be  found  in  the  bosom  of  this 
Church.  From  what  it  requires  a  very  keen  vision 
to  distino-uisli  from  rank  Romanism  and  flas^rant 
Unitarianism,  down  to  rationalistic  iiifidelity, 
through  every  grade  of  error,  the  darkness  is 
spread.  True,  pious  and  learned  prelates  and 
clergy  of  lower  rank  utter  frequent  and  manly 
protests.  True,  many  within  her  bosom  grow  sick 
at  heart  at  the  sight  of  evils  they  cannot  stay  or 
expel.     But,  as  with  the  patient  under  a  hopeless 


30  JENNY  GEDDES. 

disease,  the  recuperative  power  is  too  weak,  and 
the  noble  witnesses  protest  and  submit. 

The  sickening  story  of  Colenso  attests  her  utter 
impotency  for  discipline.  At  a  recent  meeting  of 
''  convocation"  a  well-known  ^'  dean"  spoke  nearly 
four  hours  in  the  '^  lower  house"  upon  this  case, 
in  which  he  made  these  fearful  statements :  '^  I 
might  mention  several  prelates,  and  many  obscure 
clergymen,  Avho  certainly,  on  some  of  these  mat- 
ters, hold  the  same  opinion  as  the  Bishop  of  Natal. 
I  might  mention  one  who  has  ventured  to  say  that 
the  Pentateuch  is  not  the  work  of  JNIoses — that 
the  narratives  of  historical  incidents  are  coloured 
by  the  necessary  infirmities  of  the  human  writers — 
and  that  individual  is  the  one  who  now  addresses 
you  !"  And  then  he  asked  why  they  did  not  lay 
their  hands  on  him. 

Now,  although  much  of  his  language  in  that 
speech  was  somewhat  guarded,  and  some  of  his 
expressions  are  capable  of  an  interpretation  that 
would  not  shock  the  Christian  sense,  yet  uttered 
as  they  were  in  defence  of  such  a  man,  and  by  one 
who  distinctly  avows  his  own  agreement  and  the 
agreement  of  bishops  and  obscurer  clergy  with  the 
principles  of  that  man,  it  can  only  be  understood 
as  the  expression  for  himself,  and  the  imputation 


THE  CHURCH.  31 

to  those  of  whom  he  speaks,  of  sentiments  so 
nearly  infidel  that  orthodoxy  can  give  them  no 
other  name.  Bat  where  in  that  Church  is  the 
power  to  purge  itself  of  these  heresies  and  eject 
from  her  bosom  those  who  thus  corrupt  the  faith 
once  delivered  to  the  saints? 

The  necessity  of  some  well-ordered  and  efficient 
government  in  the  Church  being  manifest,  a  ques- 
tion of  grave  importance  arises  as  to  its  legitimate 
and  wisest  form. 

On  this  our  appeal  must  he  to  the  will  of  the 
King.  The  divine  will  might  be  signified  in  one 
or  other  of  two  ways :  First,  an  explicit  and  com- 
plete system  might  have  been  laid  down,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  Mosaic  constitution,  in  plain,  literal 
terms,  thus  forestalling  controversy,  and  binding 
the  Church  by  formal  legal  enactments.  Or,  in 
the  absence  of  this,  the  will  of  the  great  Head  of 
the  Church  might  appear,  as  indeed  it  does  appear, 
in  the  course  actually  adopted  in  the  organization 
of  the  original  society.  In  the  sacred  edifice 
erected  by  apostolic  hands  we  may  assuredly  find 
a  safe  model  for  all  climes  and  generations,  to 
depart  from  which  necessitates  a  clear  and  valid 
justification  on  the  part  of  those  who  venture 
upon  such   departure.     The   Church   most  nearly 


32  JENNY   GEDDES. 

like  that  of  the  New  Testament,  in  the  rank,  func- 
tions and  names  of  its  officers,  is  without  doubt 
that  which  may  most  safely  challenge  the  scruti- 
nies of  reason  and  conscience. 

In  our  quest  for  a  church  model  in  the  New 
Testament,  we  may  not,  however,  forget  that,  from 
the  nature  of  the  case,  we  shall  come  upon  many 
customs,  agencies  and  officers  necessary  during 
the  emergence  of  the  Church  from  Judaism,  and 
its  secure  establishment  upon  its  own  independent 
foundations,  but  destined  to  pass  away  when  the 
new  empire  had  made  good  its  claim  to  existence 
among  men.  To  displace  Judaism  on  the  one 
hand,  and  Gentilism  on  the  other,  required  that, 
for  a  time,  the  Church  be  clothed  with  miraculous 
mastery  over  the  powers  of  nature,  over  sicknesses, 
demons,  and  even  over  death  itself.  But  this  work 
once  accomplished,  these  miraculous  powers  are  for 
ever  withdrawn.  To  ascertain,  then,  w-hat  is  now 
demanded  to  conform  the  Church  to  the  New  Tes- 
tament model,  we  must  carefully  distinguish  be- 
tween the  temporary  and  permanent,  between  tlie 
preparatory  and  complete,  the  scaffi^lding  and  the 
building  itself. 

.  Turning  our  eyes,  then,  toward  that  scene  of 
organization,  the  first  and   most  imposing  object 


THE  CHURCH.  33 

that  arrests  our  attention  is  the  Divine  Head; 
the  groat  Master  Builder;  High  Priest,  and  now 
only  Priest  in  Zion,  and  King  as  well  as  Priest — 
"  His  head  and  hairs  white  as  snow,  his  eyes  as 
a  flame  of  fire,  his  feet  like  unto  fine  brass,  as  if 
they  burned  in  a  furnace,  with  the  seven  stars  in 
his  right  hand,  walking  in  the  midst  of  the  golden 
candlesticks.''  He  was  and  is  the  Church's  King. 
His  word  is  law,  his  dominion  absolute.  Once 
on  earth,  he  is  now  in  heaven,  ascended  thither 
to  a  throne,  in  full  sovereignty  as  Head  of  the 
Church,  and  Head  over  all  things  to  the  Church. 
He  left  no  successor  below.  He  appointed  no 
visible  vicar.  Who  claims  such  an  office  is  a 
usurper — that  "  wicked,"  whom  "  the  Lord  shall 
consume  with  the  spirit  of  his  mouth,  and  shall 
destroy  with  the  brightness  of  his  coming !" 

The  government  of  the  Church,  then,  is  in  a 
high  and  holy  sense  an  absolute  monarchy,  for 
Jesus  Christ  is  the  Head  and  Source  of  all  govern- 
mental power  and  authority  received  by  and  ex- 
ercised over  men. 

Grouped  around  this  sacerdotal  Monarch  we 
find  a  great  variety  of  religious  officers,  some  of 
whom  are  appointed  merely  for  the  exigencies 
of  the  time,  not  intended   to    be  permanent,  and 


34  JENNY  GEDDES. 

whose  offices  ceased  for  ever  with  the  life  of  the 
incumbents. 

1.  Among  these  are  the  Twelve  Apostles,  princes 
in  Zion,  according  to  the  number  of  the  tribes  of 
Israel. 

The  very  character  of  their  endowments  and 
the  nature  of  their  official  functions  rendered  their 
office  incapable  of  transmission  to  successors,  ex- 
cept by  a  perpetual  series  of  miracles.  An  essen- 
tial qualification  for  the  apostleship  was  the  ability 
to  testify  as  eye-witnesses  to  the  resurrection  of 
Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead,  and  hence  the  incum- 
bent must  have  seen  him  alive  after  his  resurrec- 
tion ;  but  this  could  be  the  case  Avith  none  others 
than  those  of  that  one  generation  without  a  mi- 
raculous revelation  of  tlie  risen  Saviour  to  each 
successive  candidate  for  the  holy  office. 

The  importance  of  Christ's  resurrection  from 
the  dead,  as  a  great  fact  in  the  history  of  redemp- 
tion, is  recognized  in  many  provisions  and  doc- 
trines of  the  gospel  scheme.  To  glorify  this  event 
the  observance  of  the  Sabbath  was  transferred,  not 
to  the  day  of  the  week  on  which  Jesus  died,  but 
to  the  day  on  which  he  rose  from  the  dead.  It 
was  also  essential  to  complete  the  plan  of  re- 
demption. 


THE  CHURCH.  35 

This  plan  was  one  complex  whole,  which  could 
lack  no  one  part  without  becoming  wholly  vain. 
The  golden  chain  that  binds  the  redeemed  soul 
to  the  throne  of  God,  consisted  of  seven  several 
links:  the  incarnation  of  Christ,  his  obedient  life, 
his  atoning  death,  his  resurrection,  his  ascension, 
his  session  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  and  his  active 
intercession  there  in  behalf  of  those  for  whom  he 
died.  Strike  out  any  one  of  these  links,  and  the 
whole  chain  is  a  mere  rope  of  sand,  leaving  our 
poor  bark  drifting  upon  the  rocks  of  sin,  con- 
demnation and  woe.  But  our  salvation  is  most 
intimately  connected  with  the  last  —  the  inter- 
cession. 

For  all  the  rest  is  vain  for  us  until  the  Spirit 
apply  to  us  the  purchased  redemption.  But  this 
Spirit  is  given  in  response  to  Christ's  intercession. 
"  He  is  able  to  save  them  to  the  uttermost  that 
come  unto  God  by  him,  seeing  he  ever  liveth  to 
make  intercession  for  us.''  But  if  he  be  not  raised 
from  the  dead,  there  can  be  no  intercession  in 
heaven  and  no  salvation  on  earth. 

Besides,  Christ  himself  staked  all  his  claims  to 
the  Messiahship  upon  his  resurrection. 

Over  and  over  again  he  assured  his  disciples  that 
he  would  rise  again.    Almost  his  last  words  to  them 


36  JENNY  GEDDES. 

were  these :  "  After  I  am  risen,  I  will  go  before 
you  into  Galilee — there  shall  ye  see  mep  Nor  had 
he  merely  whispered  this  assurance  in  the  ears  of 
his  friends — he  had  thundered  it  in  the  ears  of  his 
foes.  And  they  well  remembered  it,  saying,  "  We 
remember  that  this  deceiver  said,  when  he  was  yet 
alive.  After  three  days  I  Avill  rise  again."  Hence 
their  request  for  a  seal  and  a  guard  for  his  se- 
pulchre ;  for  they  saw  that  even  if  his  body  were 
stolen  away  by  the  disciples,  and  the  report  go 
abroad  that  he  had  risen,  "  the  last  error  would  be 
worse  than  the  first." 

If,  now,  though  he  had  been  a  three  years'  won- 
der to  the  nation,  and  had  uttered  many  admirable 
words,  yet  had  he  failed  to  fulfil  this  oft-repeated 
assurance,  what  could  his  friends  say,  and  how 
could  his  foes  be  brought  to  believe  in  him?  Had 
he  not  risen  from  the  dead,  all  faith  in  him  would 
have  been  for  ever  buried  with  him  in  his  own 
sepulchre. 

And  all  remember  Paul's  elaborate  exposition 
of  the  bearing  of  this  great  fact  upon  the  whole 
scheme  of  salvation :  "  If  Christ  be  not  risen, 
then  is  our  preaching  vain,  and  your  faith  is  also 
vain.  If  Christ  be  not  raised,  your  faith  is  vain ; 
ye   are   yet   in  your   sins.      Then  they   that   are 


THE  CHURCH.  37 

fallen  asleep  in  Christ  are  perished/'  1  Cor.  xv. 
12-19. 

Thus  the  whole  evidence  of  Christianity  is  em- 
bosomed in  the  one  fact  of  Christ's  resurrection 
from  the  dead.  If,  indeed,  he  rose,  then  is  there 
one  glorious  Name  given,  under  heaven,  among 
men,  whereby  men  may  be  saved;  if  not,  the 
whole  scheme  is  a  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit — 
nothing  more. 

Hence  this  fact  was  too  vitally  important  to  be 
left  to  its  OW'U  authentication.  An  inspired  jury 
of  twelve  men  must  be  ordained,  who  could  go  to 
prison  and  to  death  as  w  itnesses  thereto.  And  the 
one  fundamental,  distinguishing  duty  of  the  apos- 
tolic office  was  to  certify  the  world  of  this  great  focty 
and  to  authenticate  their  appointment  to  this  office  by 
working  miracles  in  the  name  of  the  Risen  One, 
They  were  to  organize  churches  and  oversee  the 
w^hole  neW'  empire;  but  all  their  other  Avorks  were 
grounded  upon  this  one  great  duty  of  witnessing 
to  the  resurrection  of  their  Lord. 

The  word  apostle  means  messenger,  and  in  this 
general  sense  many  were  called  apostles,  but  none 
other  than  the  sacred  twelve  are  ever  mentioned  as 
the  Apostles. 

And,  for  the  time,  the  appointed  number  must 


38  JENNY   GFDBFS. 

be  retained.  Henee,  when  Juclas  fell,  Peter  said 
to  the  one  hundred  and  twenty,  all  of  whom  had 
seen  Jesus  after  his  i-esurrection,  "  Of  those  which 
have  companicd  with  us  from  the  beginning, 
must  one  be  ordained  to  be  witness  with  us,  with 
us  of  his  resurrection^^  None  others  could  fill  the 
office  assigned  to  the  twelve  but  such  as  were 
solemnly  ordained  thereto.  They  were  to  be  wit- 
nesses on  the  stand,  testifying  before  all  the  world 
to  the  great  culminating,  crowning  fact  in  the 
history  of  redemption — the  resurrection  of  Christ. 

So  Jesus  named  them.  "  In  those  last  solemn 
moments,"  writes  the  Rev.  Albert  Barnes,  upon 
this  point,  "when  he  was  about  to  leave  the  world, 
when  the  work  of  atonement  was  finished,  and 
when  he  gave  the  apostles  their  final  commission, 
he  indicated  the  nature  of  their  labour  and  the 
peculiarity  of  their  office  in  these  w^ords  :  ^Thus 
it  is  uTitten,  and  thus  it  behooved  Christ  to  suffer^ 
arid  to  i^ise  from  the  dead  on  the  third  day,  and 
ye  are  avitnesses  of  these  things,' "  Luke  xxiv. 
46-48. 

This  peculiar  title  and  office  the  apostles  ex- 
pressly challenged  for  themselves.  At  Pentecost, 
Peter,  standing  with  the  eleven,  charged  home  the 
murder  of  Jesus  upon  the  Jews,  and  then  added : 


THE  CHURCH.  39 

"  This  Jesus  has  God  raised  up,  whereof  we  all  are 
wUnesseSy"  Acts  ii.  22, 

Again,  to  the  Sanhedrim,  "  Peter  and  the  other 
apostles"  said,  "  The  God  of  our  Fathers  raised  up 
Jesus  whom  ye  slew  and  hanged  on  a  tree.  Him 
hath  God  exalted  to  be  a  Prince  and  a  Saviour, 
and  we  are  witnesses  of  these  things." 

So  essential  was  it  to  the  unique  office  of  the 
apostleship  to  have  actually  seen  Jesus  after  his 
resurrection  that  Paul  was  fitted  therefor  by  a 
miraculous  exhibition  to  his  eye  of  the  Risen  One ! 
And  to  this  he  appeals  in  justification  of  his  claim 
before  the  Corinthians :  "  Xva  I  not  an  apostle  ? 
Have  I  not  seen  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  ?"  1  Cor. 
ix.  1.  "And  last  of  all  he  was  seen  of  me,  also,  as 
of  one  born  out  of  due  time,"  1  Cor.  xv.  8. 

Thus,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  the 
apostles  could  have  uo  successors ;  and  who  lays 
claim  to  such  succession  must  be  able  to  show  that 
by  miracle  he  too  has  seen  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

A  second  marked  j^eculiarity  in  the  office  of  the 
apostle  is  seen  in  the  extent  of  his  sphere  of 
labour.  The  whole  Church  was  his  parish.  He 
might  go  with  his  fellow  apostles  or  singly, 
"whithersoever  the  exigencies  of  the  case  required.' 
Ko  province,  no  city,  no  presbytery,  Avas  exempt 


40  JENNY  GEDDES. 

from  his    oversight.      Pastors,  elders,   deacons,  if 
delinquent  or  erratic,  were  open  to  their  rebuke. 

In  this  the  only  claim  to  succession  is  that  put 
forth  by  the  triple-crowned  tyrant  on  the  banks  of 
the  Tiber,  the  Great  Apostle  of  the  Apostasy. 

2.  Besides  the  twelve  witnesses,  our  blessed 
Saviour  also  appointed,  on  a  certain  occasion, 
seventy  others,  and  sent  them  forth,  two  and  two, 
into  every  city  and  place  whither  he  himself  would 
come,  investing  them  with  miraculous  powers,  and 
charging  them  to  preach  the  gospel  of  the  king- 
dom, Luke  X.  19.  These,  however,  instead  of 
constituting  a  band  of  permanent  officers,  disapj)ear 
again  almost  as  soon  as  they  appear.  The  object 
of  their  appointment  was  merely  to  spread  the 
knowledge  of  the  kingdom  more  widely  than  was 
possible  to  the  twelve. 

3.  The  twelve  apostles  and  the  seventy  evan- 
gelists were  the  only  officers  appointed  immediately 
by  the  Saviour ;  and  they,  or  at  least  the  former, 
were  appointed  as  organizers  of  the  Church ;  but 
neither  the  one  nor  the  other  formed  any  part  of 
the  permanent  organization. 

Besides  these,  in  later  days,  many  other  officers 
were  employed  for  the  time,  but  who  left  no  suc- 
cessors.    Some  of  these  are  named   in  the  twelfth 


THE  CHURCH.     ~  41 

of  First  Corinthians.  After  the  apostles,  prophets 
are  mentioned — "men  who  spake  for  God  as  the 
occasional  organs  of  the  Spirit/'  Then  teachers — 
*'  uninspired  men  who  had  received  the  gift  of 
teaching.'^  After  that,  miracles,  or  "  men  endowed 
with  the  power  of  working  miracles."  Then  gifts 
of  healings — "  persons  endowed  with  the  power  of 
healing  diseases.''  JJeljys — "persons  qualified  to 
help  the  officers  of  the  church,  probably  in  the 
care  of  the  poor  and  the  sick."  Governments — 
"  those  who  had  authority  to  rule."  And,  finally, 
diversities  of  tongues — "  persons  having  the  gift  of 
speaking  in  foreign  tongues." 

"  On  this  enumeration,"  whites  Dr.  Charles 
Hodge,  "it  may  be  remarked  that  it  is  not  in- 
tended to  be  exhaustive.  Gifts  are  mentioned  in 
verses  eighth  and  tenth,  and  elsewhere,  which 
have  nothing  to  correspond  Avith  them  here. 

"  Secondly,  every  office  necessarily  supposes  a 
corresponding  gift.  No  man  could  be  an  apostle 
without  inspiration,  nor  a  healer  of  diseases  with- 
out the  gift  of  healing.  If  any  man,  therefore, 
claims  to  be  an  apostle,  or  a  prophet,  or  a  worker 
of  miracles,  without  the  corresponding  gift,  he  is  a 
false  pretender. 

"Thirdly,  the  fact  that  an   office  existed  in  the 


42  jExyy  geddes. 

Apostolic  Churoli  is  no  evidence  that  it  was  in- 
tended to  be  permanent.  In  tliat  age  there  was  a 
plenitude  of  spiritual  manifestations  and  eixlow- 
ments  demanded  for  the  organization  and  propaga- 
tion of  the  Church  wdiich  is  no  longer  required. 
The  only  evidence  that  an  office  was  intended  to 
be  permanent  is  the  continuance  of  the  gifts  of 
which  it  was  the  organ^  and  the  command  to  ap- 
point to  the  office  those  who  are  found  to  possess 
the  gifts.  Had  the  gift  of  sight  been  discontinued, 
it  would  avail  little  that  men  should  call  the 
mouth  and  nose  eyes,  and  demand  that  they  should 
be  recognized  as  such.  This  is  precisely  what  the 
Romanists  and  others  do  when  they  call  their 
bishops  apostles,  and  require  men  to  honour  and 
obey  them  as  though  they  were." 

Later  still  in  the  history  of  the  Church  we  find 
the  title  "angel  of  the  Church/'  as  in  Rev.  i.  20: 
"  The  seven  stars  are  the  ano;els  of  the  seven 
churches.'^ 

These  Avords  form  a  part  of  the  glowing  intro- 
ductory vision  of  the  Apocalypse.  The  Son  of 
man  appeared  to  the  Seer  of  Patmos  walking  in 
the  midst  of  the  golden  candlesticks,  and  in  his 
right  hand,  the  hand  of  firmer  grasp,  seven  stars. 
The  candlesticks  are  the  churches  and  the  stars 


THE  CHrnciL  43 

tlie  angels — that  Is,  the  officers  of  those  churches. 
The  Son  of  man,  the  Sun  of  Righteousness,  the 
blazing  source  and  centre  of  all  spiritual  light, 
employs  these  angel-stars  as  the  official  human 
medium  through  which  he  pours  upon  the 
churches  to  which  they  severally  minister  the 
light  of  instruction,  example  and  consolation. 

This  term,  angel,  is  a  favorite  Scripture  title  for 
the  minister  of  religion.  The  prophets  are  called 
angels  :  ^^  Thus  spake  Haggai,  the  Lord's  angel." 
So  also  the  priests :  "  The  priest's  lips  should 
keep  knowledge,  for  he  is  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
of  Hosts,''  Mai.  ii.  7.  And  the  Jews  were  accus- 
tomed to  o^ive  this  title  to  the  minister  who  offi- 
ciated  in  the  service  of  the  synagogue.  And  the 
seven  epistles  in  Revelation  are  addressed  to  the 
angels  of  the  churches,  to  which  they  severally 
ministered. 

And  in  these  epistles  the  title  is  given,  not  to 
any  one  man,  but  to  the  collective  body  of  min- 
isterial incumbents  in  the  churches  specifically 
named.  Thus,  in  the  epistle  to  the  angel  of  the 
Church  at  Smyrna,  we  read,  ^'  I  know  tliy  works ; 
fear  none  of  the  thino^s  which  thou  shalt  suffer. 
Behold,  thou  angel,  the  devil  shall  cast  some  of 
you  into  prison,  that  ye  may  be  tried.     Be  thou 


44  JENNY   GEDDES. 

faithful  unto  death,  and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown 
of  life.'^ 

The  object  here  addressed,  now  collectively  and 
now  distributively,  is  the  same,  for  the  words 
specify  impending  dangers  and  persecutions,  and 
then  consolations  to  support  under  them ;  and  we 
may  not  accuse  the  venerable  exile  of  the  rhetorical 
confusion  of  attemj^ting  to  administer  comfort  to 
one  person,  or  body  of  men,  under  affliction,  by 
telling  others  of  consolations  in  store  for  them,  or 
them  of  consolations  in  store  for  others. 

The  first  of  these  epistles  is  addressed  to  the 
angel  of  the  Church  at  Ephesus.  That  this  angel 
consisted  of  no  single  person  may  be  seen  in  the 
account  given  in  the  twentieth  of  Acts  of  the  scene 
at  Miletus:  "And  from  Miletus,  Paul  sent  to 
Ephesus,  and  called  to  him  the  elders  of  the 
Church,''  and  these  elders  he  thus  addressed, 
"  Take  heed  to  all  the  flock  of  God,  over  the 
which  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  made  you  hishopsJ^ 
Thus,  we  have  here  the  collected  body  of  pastoral 
Ephesian  bishops,  to  which  John  afterward  wrote, 
styling  them  the  angel  of  the  Church  at  Ephesus. 

And  in  the  fourteenth  chapter  of  this  book  the 
aggregate  Christian  ministry  in  all  the  world  is 
called  an  angel:    "And  I  saw  another  angel  fly 


THE  CHURCH.  45 

in  the  midst  of  heaven,  having  the  everlasting 
gospel  to  preach  utito  every  nation,  and  kindred, 
and  tongue,  and  peopled 

Thus  the  whole  Christian  ministry  in  the  world 
is  the  angel  of  the  whole  body  of  professing  Chris- 
tians in  the  world ;  and  any  given  number  of  min- 
isterial brethren,  Avho  represent  an  aggregate  of 
Christian  congregations,  are,  in  Scripture  language, 
the  angel  of  that  aggregate;  and  each  pastor  is 
the  ano^el  of  the  cono-reo-ation  to  which  he  min- 
isters. 

Besides  the  temporary  officers  of  the  Church, 
appointed  and  qualified  for  its  organization  under 
the  form,  there  were  permanent  officers  called  dea- 
cons. An  account  of  the  institution  of  this  office 
is  given  in  the  sixth  of  Acts.  The  deacon,  as  will 
there  be  seen,  was  not  to  be  a  ruler,  but  only  a 
distributor  of  alms  to  the  needy,  godly  poor. 

The  Church  then  was  not  organized  under  gov- 
ernmental forms  while  Christ  was  yet  on  earth. 
The  preparations  were  all  made.  John  the  Baptist 
did  his  work,  and  the  seventy  temporary  evangel- 
ists finished  theirs,  and  their  official  character  is 
never  mentioned  in  the  New  Testament  after  the 
resurrection.  Up  to  the  time  of  Christ's  death, 
whereby  he  *^  finished  transgression  and  made  an 


46  JENNY  GEDDES. 

end  of  sin,  and  made  reconciliation  for  iniquity" 
by  the  one  great  sacrifice,  the  old  Church  could 
not  give  place  to  the  new.  Nor  did  the  disciples 
and  apostles,  in  their  dismay  and  bewilderment, 
know  what  to  think  or  do  till  the  Holy  Ghost  at 
Pentecost  enlightened  their  minds  and  marked 
out  a  clear  ])ath  before  them. 

In  proceeding  now  to  unfold  the  system  of  gov- 
ernment instituted  by  the  apostles,  let  it  be  re- 
marked : 

1.  That  each  Church  was  placed  under  perma- 
nent rulers. 

The  Church,  as  organized,  was  not  a  pure  de- 
mocracyj  in  which  the  government  was  adminis- 
tered by  the  people  in  the  mass,  but  a  system 
under  which  certain  rulers,  however  designated 
and  inducted  into  office,  were  invested  with  the 
powers  and  exercised  the  functions  of  government. 

Dr.  John  Mason  writes :  '^  There  are  three  terms 
employed  in  the  ^ew  Testament  to  express  the 
authority  which  is  to  be  exercised  in  the  Christian 
Church — one  meaning  to  lead,  another  to  stand 
before,  to  preside  over,  and  the  third,  to  act  the  part 
of  the  shepherd;^'  and  all  the  powers  thus  specified 
are  named  as  beloup-ino;  to  Church  officers.  In 
Heb.  xiii.  7,  17,  24,  we  read:  "Remember  them 


THE  CHURCH.  A^J 

which  have  the  rule  over  you — your  rulers" — 
^^  obey  them  and  submit  yourselves.  Salute  all 
tJiem  that  have  tlie  rule  over  you/'  It  is  signifi- 
cant that  these  rulers  are  spoken  of  as  many, 
without  any  hint  that  the  ]>owers  of  government 
were  ever  invested  in  an  individual.  The  term 
here  employed  to  signify  ride  is  the  same  as  that 
found  in  Matt.  ii.  6  :  "  Thou  Bethlehem  in  the 
land  of  Juda  art  not  the  least  among  the  iwinces — 
rulers — of  Juda,  for  out  of  thee  shall  come  a  gov- 
ernor — ruler — that  shall  7nUe  my  people  Israel." 

In  1  Thess.  V.  12  it  is  written:  "We  beseech 
you  to  know  them  which  labour  among  and  are 
over  you  in  the  Lord."  In  the  single  Church  at 
Thessalonica  there  were  several  persons  in  official 
position  over  the  brethren.  The  word  here  em- 
})loyed  nieans  to  preside  over  and  govern,  as  we 
see  in  1  Tim.  iii.  4:  "A  bishop  must  be  one  that 
ruhth  well  his  own  house." 

Again,  in  1  Pet.  v.  2,  3 :  "  The  elders  which  are 
among  you  I  exhort;  feed,  act  the  shepherd  to, 
govern,  control  the  flock  of  God  which  is  among 
you,  taking  the  oversight  thereof,  acting  as  bishop 
over  them."  And  in  Acts  xx.  17,  38,  the  elders 
are  commanded  to  feed  the  flock  over  which  they 
had    been    made   overseers.     This   word,   act   the 


48  JEXyY  GEDDES. 

shepherd,  is  common  in  the  Greek  classics  as  a 
designation  of  the  kingly  office;  kings  are  called 
the  shepherds  of  the  people.  Of  David  it  was 
said  in  2  Sam.  v.  2 :  ''  Thou  shalt  feed,  act  the 
shepherd  to  ray  people,  and  be  a  captain  over 
them." 

Of  Christ,  also,  it  is  said  in  Matt.  ii.  6,  "  He 
shall  rule — feed — be  shepherd  to  my  people." 
And  in  Rev.  ii.  27,  the  same  word  is  used,  ^^  He 
shall  rule  them  with  a  rod  of  iron." 

Thus  we  see  that  the  several  churches  were 
placed  under  officers  who  were  invested  with  all 
the  powers  necessary  for  the  exercise  of  a  wise  and 
authoritative  government  and  discipline. 

2.  These  rulers  Avere  elders.  "  Let  the  ciders 
that  rule  well  be  accounted  worthy  of  double 
honour,"  1  Tim.  v.  17.  "The  elders  which  are 
among  you  feed^  rule,  govern  the  flock  of  God 
which  is  among  you,  taking  the  oversight  thereof, 
exercising  the  duties  of  the  bishopric,"  1  Pet.  v. 
1,  3.  "From  Miletus  Paul  sent  to  Ephesus  and 
called  the  eldet's  of  the  Church  and  said  to  them : 
Take  heed  to  all  the  flock  over  the  which  the 
Holy  Ghost  hath  made  you  bishoj)^,  to  feed,  rule, 
govern  the  Church  of  God,"  Acts  xx.  17,  28. 
Thus   in  the  one  Church  at  Ephesus  there  were 


THE  CHURCH.  49 

several  who  filled  the  office  of  rulers,  and  these 
rulers  were  elders.  Paul  and  Barnabas  '^  ordained 
elders  in  every  church,  or  church  by  churchy^'  Acts 
xiv.  23.  Having  brought  the  work  of  organiza- 
tion to  a  certain  degree  of  maturity  in  Crete,  Paul 
left  Titus,  his  assistant  and  companion,  there  '^to 
set  in  order  the  things  that  were  wanting,  and 
ordain  elders  in  eirry  city,^  Titus  i.  5. 

3.  As  these  elders  are  called  rulers  and  invested 
with  all  governmental  authority,  so  in  fact  they 
exercised  their  powers  in  the  icork  of  discipline  and 
control. 

As  Mr.  Barnes  well  says,  there  were  hundreds 
of  churches,  yet  only  two  instances  are  mentioned 
in  which  the  apostles  in  any  way  interfered  in 
cases  of  discipline.  That  calls  for  discipline  were 
very  numerous  is  evident  from  the  fearful  defec- 
tions from  the  faith  mentioned  in  the  E2)istle  to 
the  Galatians,  and  from  pure  morals  among  the 
Corinthians.  And  as  each  of  these  churches  w^as 
organized  under  an  eldership  commanded  to  rule 
the  flock,  the  work  of  discipline  naturally  and 
necessarily  fell  to  them. 

Accordingly,  in  2  Thess.  iii.  14,  Paul  charges 
the  Church,  "  If  any  man  obey  not  our  word  by 
this  epistle,  note  that  man  and  have  no  company 


60  JENNY  GEDDES. 

with  him/'  They  were  to  censure  him  and  au- 
thoritatively debar  him  from  Christian  privileges. 
This  charge  being  given  to  the  Church  as  an 
organized  body,  must  be  addressed  to  those  officers 
whose  duty  it  was  to  "feed,"  rule,  govern  the 
flock  and  act  the  bishops  over  it. 

Again,  in  the  5th  chapter  of  1  Cor.  an  account 
is  given  of  an  instance  of  gross  immorality  calling 
for  rigorous  discipline — for  the  infliction  of  a 
penalty  which  consisted  in  delivering  the  offender 
over  "  to  Satan  for  destruction  of  the  flesh.''  Now 
Paul,  as  an  apostle,  lield  by  virtue  of  his  office 
the  right  to  interfere  anywhere  and  at  any  time  in 
the  affairs  of  any  Church.  But  in  the  Church  at 
Corinth  he  felt  a  peculira'  interest  as  its  founder 
and  the  instrument  in  the  hands  of  God  of  the 
conversion  of  many  of  its  members.  They  were 
his  spiritual  children  dearly  beloved.  "  For 
though  ye  have  ten  thousand  instructors  in  Christ, 
ye  have  not  many  fathers.  For  in  Christ  Jesus  I 
have  begotten  you  through  the  gospel,"  1  Cor.  iv. 
15.  Now  in  our  churches  cases  not  unfrequently 
arise  in  which  discipline  by  the  ordinary  methods 
is  impossible.  Sometimes  the  body  of  the  church 
and  the  elders  are  so  at  variance  that  any  censure 
by  the  latter  is  felt  by  the  former  to  be  the  result 


THE  CHURCH.  61 

of  prejudice,  or  the  eldership  may  be  so  divided  as 
to  make  an  effective  decision  impossible.  In  such 
a  case,  the  presbytery  sometimes  lays  its  com- 
mands upon  the  session  or  eldership,  and  they  are 
constrained  to  proceed  accordingly.  Sometimes, 
not  very  unfrequently,  the  presbytery  takes  the 
whole  matter  into  its  own  hands,  and  of  itself 
settles  the  question. 

In  the  case  before  us,  among  the  Corinthians, 
from  some  cause,  discipline  in  the  ordinary  way 
was  hindered  and  the  offender  went  unpunished. 
There  were  now  three  legitimate  methods  in  which 
the  apostle  might  have  proceeded  in  this  case : 

Firsty  he  might  have  committed  the  whole 
matter  to  Timothy,  his  travelling  companion,  and 
bid  him  to  settle  the  matter.  He  sometimes  did 
this  :  "  I  besought  thee  to  abide  at  Ephesus  when 
I  went  into  Macedonia,  that  thou  mightest  charge 
some  that  they  teach  no  other  doctrine,''  1  Tim. 
i.  3.  And  Timothy  was  now  at  Corinth  with  a 
commission  from  the  apostle  to  execute  just  such 
tasks  as  this :  "  For  this  cause  I  have  sent  unto 
you  Timotheus,  my  beloved  son  and  faithful  in 
the  Lord,  who  shall  bring  you  into  remembrance 
of  my  ways  which  be  in  Christ,  as  I  teach  every- 
where in  every  Church,"  1  Cor.  iv.  17. 


62  JENNY  GEDDES. 

Or,  second,  the  apostle  might  have  decided  the 
matter  himself  by  virtue  of  his  plenary  authority 
as  an  apostle,  and  sent  a  formal  excommunication 
of  the  offender  with  the  bearer  of  this  epistle. 

Or,  lastly  J  in  proper  recognition  of  the  dignity 
and  authority  of  the  eldership,  he  might  simply 
direct  them  as  to  the  course  they  were  to  pursue, 
and  thus  reinforced  by  an  apostle's  judgment  they 
could  control  all  opposition  and  carry  the  matter 
to  a  final  settlement.  Now,  in  fact,  the  apostle 
chose  the  last  course  of  the  three.  Leavina: 
Timothy  entirely  out  of  view,  he  directed  the 
Church  to  take  the  matter  in  hand  and  issue  it  in 
the  regular  way  :  "  For  I  verily,  as  absent  in  body 
but  present  in  spirit,  have  judged  already  as  if  I 
were  present  concerning  him  that  hath  so  done  this 
deed.'^  To  his  own  mind  the  proper  course  was 
perfectly  clear  :  ^'  In  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  vjlien  ye  are  gathered  together,  and  my 
spirit" — Paul  was  in  spirit  among  them  as  a 
member  of  their  eldership — "  with  the  power  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  deliver  such  an  one  to 
Satan."  Thus,  even  as  an  apostle,  he  yet  acted 
with  and  through  the  eldership.  The  Church 
obeyed  and  inflicted  the  condemnation.  The  pun- 
ishment was    "inflicted  of  many,"  2  Cor.  ii.  6. 


THE  CHURCH.  63 

The  bench  of  ruling  elders  performed  their  task, 
and  the  result  was,  ^^  that  the  offender  was  brought 
to  such  sorrow  that  he  was  likely  to  be  over- 
whelmed/' 2  Cor.  ii.  7.  And  now  another  act  of 
government  was  needed.  The  offender  must  be 
restored.  But,  as  Mr.  Barnes  says,  ^'  Even  an 
apostle  did  not  assume  the  prerogative  of  saying 
that  he  should  be  reinstated  in  the  Church ;  he  did 
not  of  his  own  authority  restore  him;  he  placed 
him  before  the  Church  and  asked  them  to  do  it." 
^'  Sufficient  to  such  a  man  is  this  punishment,  so 
that  contrary  wise" — reversing  your  judgment — 
"i/e  ought  rather  to  forgive  him.  Wherefore  I 
beseech  you  that  ye  would  confirm  your  love  to- 
ward him.  To  whom  ye  forgive  anything  I 
forgive  also."  The  Church  Jirst,  and  then  the 
apostle.     He  simply  confirms  their  sentence. 

The  only  other  case  of  discipline  in  which  the 
apostles  are  mentioned  as  taking  part  is  one  al- 
luded to  in  1  Tim.  i.  20:  "  Hymeneus  and  Alex- 
ander, whom  I  have  delivered  unto  Satan,  that 
they  may  learn  not  to  blaspheme."  In  giving 
charge  to  Timothy,  Paul  incidentally  speaks  of 
this  case  of  discipline  in  which  he,  as  an  apostle, 
had  authoritatively  acted. 

It  is  not  stated,  nor  can  it  be  known  where  this 


54  JENNY  GEDDES. 

case  of  discipline  occurred,  whether  in  Macedonia 
where  Paul  now  was,  or  during  some  earlier  period 
Avhen  Timothy  was  with  him.  All  that  we  can 
gather  is,  that  it  was  a  case  with  which  Timothy 
was  familiar.  We  learn  from  it  that  there  were 
occasions  in  which,  owing  to  the  inexperience  of 
the  elders,  or  to  divisions  among  them,  or  to  the 
confusion  into  which  the  Church  had  been  thrown 
by  the  boldness  and  recklessness  of  blasphemers, 
it  was  necessary  that  the  apostle  exercise  directly 
his  undoubted  right  to  inflict  the  extraordinary 
penalty  of  delivering  over  to  Satan.  And  it  may 
be  that  in  this  case  also,  as  in  that  at  Corinth,  the 
apostle,  as  himself  an  elder,  acted  with  the  other 
elders  and  through  them. 

4.  These  elders  were  the  only  permanent  officers 
ordained  to  hear  rule  in  the  Church  of  the  New 
Testament. 

The  Epistle  to  the  Philippians  is  addressed  to 
"all  the  saints  at  Philippi,  with  the  bishops  and 
deacons."  The  whole  Church,  including  its  board 
of  officers,  is  here  addressed,  and  the  only  officers 
are  bishops  and  deacons.  Tlie  deacons  were  not 
rulers,  but  officers  to  receive  and  distribute  alms 
to  the  poor.  In  this  one  Church  at  Philippi  were 
several  bishops.    These  bishops  were  ehlers.    "  For 


THE  CHURCH.  55 

this  cause  I  left  thee  in  Crete  to  ordain  elders  in 
every  city,  if  any  be  blameless,  for  a  bishop  must 
be  blameless."  Blshoj^s  and  elders  are  the  same, 
and  the  epistle  is  addressed  to  the  elders  and  dea- 
cons. And  as  this  Church  was  organized  by  Paul 
himself,  we  may  be  sure  that  it  was  complete  in 
all  its  appointments. 

And  as  Jesus,  while  labouring  in  the  narrow 
field  of  Palestine,  required  not  only  twelve  apostles 
to  be  constantly  with  him  for  their  instruction, 
but  for  a  time  seventy  evangelists,  to  go  before 
him  whithersoever  Jie  himself  would  come,  and 
whose  office  ceased  when  he  ceased  his  travels,  so 
the  Apostle  Paul,  the  great  Church  organizer,  with 
the  whole  world  before  him,  required  and  ap- 
l^ointed  at  least  two  elders,  Timothy  and  Titus, 
to  be  his  companions  in  travel,  and,  when  occasion 
required,  to  remain  behind  him  and  finish  work 
which  he  had  begun. 

About  the  year  53,  Paul  associated  Timothy 
with  him  at  Lystra,  as  a  ^' minister*^  and  helper, 
Acts  xix.  22.  At  the  close  of  this  year  he  was 
with  liim  at  Berea,  Acts  xvii.  14.  When  Paul 
reached  Athens  he  sent  word  for  Timothy  to  rejoin 
him  there,  and  to  come  with  all  speed,  v.  15.  At 
Corinth,  Timothy  reached  his  spiritual  father,  Acts 


58  JENNY  GEDBES. 

xviii.  5.  The  next  two  years  he  made  a  part 
of  the  apostle's  retinue;  was  w^ith  him  when  he 
wrote  both  Epistles  to  the  Thessalonians,  1  Thess. 
i.  1 ;  2  Thess.  i.  1,  and  at  the  close  of  that  period 
was  sent  with  Erastus  into  Macedonia,  Acts  xix. 
22.  Three  years  after  he  was  sent  to  Corinth, 
1  Cor.  iv.  17,  and  tlie  next  year  had  returned,  and 
was  with  Paul  when  he  wrote  his  second  Epistle 
to  the  Church  there,  2  Cor.  i.  1.  He  was  one  of 
the  seven  who  composed  the  apostle's  train  that 
same  year  when  he  left  Greece  and  Avent  into 
Asia.  Thus  Timothy  acted  as  '^  minister"  to  Paul 
and  did  the  "  work  of  an  evangelist,"  2  Tim.  iv.  5. 
Paul  "  besought  him  to  abide  a  while  at  Ephesus" 
to  do  a  certain  work,  expecting  soon  to  join  him 
there,  and  to  be  diligent  in  his  work  ''till  he 
come,"  1  Tim.  i.  3;  iii.  14;  iv.  13.  Timothy  had 
no  thought  that  Ephesus  was  his  home  and  the 
special  field  of  his  labours,  and  he  remained  there 
only  at  the  earnest  request  of  the  apostle.  The 
only  instances  in  which  he  is  known  to  have  been 
at  Ephesus  at  all,  are — first,  the  time  when  he  was 
sent  thence  into  Macedonia,  Acts  xix.  22,  and  the 
time  when  Paul  begged  him  to  remain  there  ''  till 
he  come,"  1  Tim.  iv.  13. 

Now,  as   a  "minister"  to   an   apostle   and   an 


THE  CHURCH.  57 

"evangelist,"  he  was  entrusted  with  tasks  that 
might  just  as  well  have  been  assigned  to  any  other 
travelling  elder.  As  Paul's  representative,  during 
the  brief  parenthesis  of  time  he  spent  in  this  place 
and  that,  he  could  ordain  elders,  commit  the  things 
which  he  had  heard  of  Paul  among  many  wit- 
nesses to  faithful  men,  who  should  be  able  to 
teach  others  also,  put  the  brethren  in  remembrance 
of  these  things,  charge  them  that  they  teach  no 
other  doctrine,  and  execute  any  other  service  en- 
trusted to  him  by  tlie  apostle,  who  was  constantly 
inspecting  his  work,  correcting  any  errors  into 
wliich  he  might  fall,  and  setting  his  seal  upon 
any  work  done  according  to  the  will  of  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

It  has  been  hastily  assumed  that  Paul  calls 
Timothy  an  apostle  in  1  Thess.  i.  1 ;  ii.  6,  where, 
after  thus  opening  the  Epistle,  "  Paul  and  Syl- 
vanus  and  Timotheus,"  he  says,  "  We  might  have 
been  burdensome  to  you  as  the  apostles  of  Christ." 
If  this  were  so,  it  was  very  different  from  his 
mode  of  speaking  in  2  Cor.  i.  1,  ^'  Paul  an  apos- 
tle, and  Timothy"  not  an  apostle,  but  "  owr 
hrother.^^  And  in  Col.  i.  1,  "Paul  an  apostle  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  Timotheus  our  brother.'^  He 
does  not  write,  Paul  and  Timotheus,  apostles  of 


58  JENNY  GEDDES. 

Jesus  Christ,  though  in  Phil.  i.  1  he  does  write 
"  Paul  and  Timotheus,  servants  of  Jesus  Christ." 
And  in  2  Thess.  ii.  1-6,  we  read,  "  Ye  know  that 
we  were  shamefully  entreated  at  Philippi."  But 
Timothy  was  not  shamefully  entreated  there.  So 
in  1  Thess.  i.  Paul  writes,  w^hen  we  could  no 
longer  follow  we  thought  to  be  left  in  Athens 
alone.  We,  I  Paul  alone.  And  Paul  is  speaking 
of  himself  alone  when  he  says,  "We  might  have 
been  burdensome  to  you  as  apostles  of  Christ, 
but  tve  were  gentle  among  you  as  a  nurse  cher- 
isheth  her  children;  wherefore  we  would  not 
come  unto  you,  even  I,  Paul,  once  and  again." 
Thus  Timothy  is  called  an  evangelist,  a  minister, 
a  brother,  but  never  an  apostle  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament. 

Timothy,  then,  was  simply  an  itinerant  mission- 
ary, and  where  he  was'  when  Paul  wrote  his  second 
letter  to  him  it  is  impossible  to  say.  That  he  was 
not  at  Ephesus  is  seen  in  2  Tim.  iv.  12,  where 
Paul  says,  "  I  have  sent  Tychicus  to  Ephesus," 
which  he  would  hardly  say  to  one  at  Ephesus ; 
for  Tychicus,  already  on  his  way  to  Ephesus, 
would  reach  it  before  the  letter  arrived,  if  he  were 
not  already  there.  Then  Paul  says,  "  Trophimus 
I  left  sick  at  Miletum,"  and   Paul  would  hardly 


THE  CHURCH.  59 

write  all  the  Avay  from  Rome  to  tell  one  In  Ephe- 
sus  that  he  had  left  another  sick  only  thirty  miles 
off. 

Titus  was  another  of  these  itinerant  evangelists. 
For  a  while  he  was  left  in  Crete  to  set  in  order 
the  things  that  were  wanting  and  ordain  elders  in 
every  city,  and  in  the  apostle's  name  to  instruct 
them  and  the  people  in  their  duties,  Titus  i.  5. 
Then  when  judicious  elders  had  been  placed  in 
office  these  churches  were  to  be  left  to  their  con- 
trol, and  Titus  was  to  hasten  away  elsewhere. 
"  When  I  shall  send  Artemus  unto  thee,  or  Ty- 
chicus,  be  diligent  to  come  unto  me  to  Nicopolis," 
Titus  iii.  12.  Again,  we  find  Paul  sending  him 
from  Ephesus  to  Corinth,  2  Cor.  xiii.  18 ;  and 
then  leaving  Ephesus  himself  he  expected  to  meet 
Titus  at  Troas,  in  which  he  was  sadly  disap- 
pointed :  ''  I  came  to  Troas,  but  had  no  rest  in 
my  spirit  because  I  found  not  Titus  my  brother," 
2  Cor.  ii.  12,  13.  So  he  went  on  to  Macedonia, 
where  Titus  rejoined  him,  2  Cor.  vii.  5,  6.  Again 
Paul  sent  him  to  Dalmatia :  "  Demas  hath  for- 
saken me  and  is  departed  unto  Thessalonica,  Titus 
to  Dalmatia,''  2  Tim.  iv.  10.  And  should  we 
inquire,  as  certain  persons  did,  "  Who  is  this 
Titus  ?"  Paul  answers  "  he  is" — not  an  apostle,  but — 


60  JENNY  GEDDES 

"  my  partner  and  fellow-helper  concerning  you/' 
2  Cor.  viii.  23. 

Thus  Titus^  like  Timothy^  was  simply  an  elder, 
employed  by  the  apostle  to  do  certain  important 
services  here  and  there,  to  hasten  from  place  to 
place,  and  assist  in  organizing  the  churches  under 
a  permanent  eldership,  and  to  instruct  those  elders 
in  the  duties  of  their  high  office. 

The  elder  or  presbyter,  then,  is  the  only  ruling 
officer  in  the  New  Testament  Church ;  and  who- 
ever lays  claim  to  any  governmental  office  higher 
than  this  or  other  than  this  within  the  Church  of 
Christ,  and  especially  one  who  challenges  authority 
over  elders,  must  make  good  his  claim  by  some 
plain  revelation  of  God  given  subsequent  to  apos- 
tolic times.  The  Romish  cardinals  may  elect  one 
of  their  number  to  headship  in  the  papacy,  and 
when  elected  and  inducted  into  office  he  shall  be 
the  vicar,  not  of  Christ,  but  of  the  conclave,  while 
in  the  Church  of  Christ  he  is  nothing.  The  pres- 
ent female  head  of  the  English  Church  estal)lish- 
ment  may  nominate  or  apj^oint,  and  by  her 
^'  license,  under  her  royal  signet  and  sign  manual, 
authorize  and  empower  one  to  be"  a  bishop  or 
archbishoj:),  and  this  officer  may  be  a  baron,  and, 
as   such,  sit  in   the   House  of  Lords  and  act  as 


THE  CHURCH.  61 

secular  legislator,  and  may  hold  his  courts  of  va- 
rious character,  but  in  the  Church  of  Christ  he 
can  be  at  the  highest  no  more  than  an  elder,  and, 
as  such,  is  capable  of  no  other  acts  than  such  as 
pertain  to  the  eldership. 

5.  This  office  of  the  eldership  was  but  the  con- 
tinuation of  one  that  had  existed  from  the  earliest 
period  in  the  Church  of  God. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  human  race, 
as  it  radiated  in  various  directions  from  its  ancient 
home  in  the  East,  bore  with  it  those  seeds  and 
animals  which  are  most  needful  for  its  service 
and  support.  Rice,  wheat,  pulse  and  the  vine; 
the  horse,  the  ass,  sheep,  goats  and  cows,  and 
many  other  animals,  have  been,  from  the  first,  and 
still  are,  the  almost  inseparable  companions  of 
man.  The  same  is  largely  true  also  of  those 
words  that  denote  family  relations — father,  mother, 
child ;  of  words  that  designate  the  various  parts 
of  the  body ;  of  names  of  the  heavenly  bodies, 
and  of  those  expressive  of  various  bodily  acts,  as 
eat,  drink,  sleep  and  walk.  Through  all  migra- 
tions, through  all  changes  of  climate,  customs  and 
institutions,  however  great  and  diversified  they 
may  be,  those  things  which  either  grow  out  of 
the  life  of  a  people  or  are  most  needful  for  its 


62  JENNY  GEDDES. 

well-being  cling  to  man  in  steady  and  almost  un- 
varying relationship. 

The  same  is  true  of  those  institutions  through 
which  the  domestic  and  civil  life  have  been  taught 
from  earliest  years  to  express  themselves.  And 
thus  we  see  the  chosen  people  of  God,  while  part- 
ing with  many  things  during  the  lapse  of  ages, 
and  adopting  and  naturalizing  among  themselves 
many  new  customs  and  habits,  yet,  through  all 
migrations,  vicissitudes  and  revolutions,  still  cling- 
ing to  the  eldership  as  to  a  part  of  its  social, 
tribal  and  national  being. 

Even  during  the  residence  in  Egypt,  at  first  as 
the  adopted  children  and  favorites  of  the  realm, 
and  then  as  its  slaves,  under  hard  bondage  in 
brick  and  mortar,  that  people,  so  far  from  sinking 
into  anarchical  dissolution  among  themselves,  re- 
tained, in  the  venerable  eldership,  something  more 
than    the   mere   semblance   of   a   reo^ular   orsrani- 

CD  O 

zation  —  whether  from  force  of  habit  or  from  a 
half-unconscious  assurance  that  the  day  would 
dawn  when  this  institution  would  come  to  play 
an  important  part  in  their  national  life.  How 
far  anything  like  a  thorough  governmental  econ- 
omy obtained  among  the  enslaved  people  it  is  not 
easy  to  say.     But  that  the  hour   for   putting  on 


THE  CHURCH,  63 

tlie  sandals  for  the  march  to  the  land  of  promise, 
freedom  and  national  power  found  a  sort  of  magis- 
tracy in  the  eldership,  is  very  certain.  For  out  of 
the  burning  bush  God  gave  the  command  to  Moses  : 
''  Go  and  gather  the  elders  of  Israel,  and  say,  The 
God  of  your  fathers,  tlie  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac 
and  Jacob  appeared  unto  me,"  Ex.  iii.  16.  Equally 
certain  is  it  that  these  elders  were  and  acted  as 
the  acknowledged  representatives  of  the  people. 
The  command  to  Moses  was  :  "  Thus  shalt  thou 
say  to  the  children  of  Israel,  Go  gather  the  elders 
of  Israel  and  say  unto  them.'^  And  in  Ex.  iv. 
20-31,  ^'  Moses  and  Aaron  went  and  gathered 
together  all  the  elders  of  Israel,  and  Aaron  spake 
all  the  words  which  the  Lord  had  spoken  unto 
Moses,  and  did  the  signs  in  the  sight  of  the 
peoj)le.^'  Thus  the  people  were  in  the  elders,  and 
the  elders  stood  and  saw  and  acted  for  the  people. 
The  seventy  elders  mentioned  in  Numbers  xi. 
25,  who  acted  as  assistants  to  Moses  and  Aaron, 
were  not  then  first  ordained  to  office,  but  merely 
selected  for  a  special  purpose  from  a  body  of  men 
already  in  official  position.  They  are  spoken  of 
as  "seventy  of  the  elders,"  Ex.  xxiv.  1.  In  dis- 
tress and  humiliation  for  tlie  defeat  at  Ai,  Joshua 
and  the  elders  of  Israel  put  dust  upon  their  heads. 


64  JENNY  GEDDES. 

And  when  the  hour  of  victory  had  come,  the  elders 
went  up  Avith  Joshua  before  the  people  of  Ai, 
Josh.  vii.  6 ;  viii.  10.  During  the  period  of  the 
judges,  the  eklers  still  held  their  place  in  the 
national  and  local  magistracies,  and,  from  their 
numbers,  must  have  exerted  a  powerful  influence 
in  shaping  and  controlling  affairs.  At  Succoth, 
Gideon  found  and  dealt  with  elder-princes  to  the 
number  of  seventy-seven.  And  in  the  last  chap- 
ter of  the  book  of  Judges,  we  find  the  eldership 
of  the  whole  nation  in  council  respecting  the  in- 
terests of  one  of  the  tribes.  In  the  book  of 
Samuel  repeated  mention  is  made  of  the  elders, 
now  deciding  the  question  of  war  and  peace,  1 
Samuel  iv.  3,  and  now  taking  into  their  own 
hands,  under  God,  the  momentous  matter  of  a 
national  revolution,  transmuting  the  republic  into 
a  monarchy,  1  Sam.  viii.  Even  under  the  mon- 
archy they  still  held  their  place.  It  was  the 
eldership  that  adjusted  matters  with  David  in 
Hebron  and  made  him  king,  2  Samuel  v.  2.  And 
when  David,  after  the  insurrection  under  Absalom 
and  the  defeat  of  the  rebel  prince,  looked  again 
liomeward  in  his  exile,  he  asked,  '^  Why  are  the 
elders  of  Judah  last  to  bring  back  their  king?" 
2  Samuel  xix.  11.     The  elders  filled  the  place  of 


THE  CHURCH.  65 

counsellors  and  assistants  of  the  king.  They  ac- 
companied David  when  he  went  to  bring  back 
the  ark  from  the  house  of  Obed-Edom,  1  Chron. 
XV.  25. 

In  Proverbs  xxxi.  23,  Solomon  alludes  to  the 
high  and  honourable  place  of  the  eldership,  when 
lie  writes  of  the  virtuous  woman,  "  Her  husband 
is  known  in  the  gate  when  he  sitteth  among  the 
elders  of  the  land." 

The  disruption  under  Rehoboam,  which  resulted 
in  the  overthrow  of  pure  religion  among  the 
seceding  tribes,  spared,  hoAvever,  the  eldership. 
When  the  imperious  Ben-hadad  demanded  of 
Ahab  the  surrender  of  all  his  treasures,  the  king 
called  all  the  elders  of  the  land  to  consultation, 
1  Kings  XX.  2-9.  And  in  2  Kings  x.  1  we  find 
Jehu  writing  letters  to  the  rulers  of  Israel,  "the 
elders.^^ 

And  the  eldership  still  held  its  own  during  the 

Babylonish   exile:    "The    letter   which    Jeremiah 

sent  from  Jerusalem  unto  the  residue  of  the  elders 

which  were  carried  away  captives,'^  Jer.  xxix.  1. 

And  in  their  exile  the   people  consulted  Ezekiel 

through    the    eldership:     "Certain    of   the   elders 

came  to  inquire  of  the  Lord,  and  sat  before  me." 

With   the   restoration   to    Palestine    the   elders 
5 


M  JEN^'Y  GEDDES. 

bIso  came  with  tlie  people.  Ezra  (x.  8)  speaks  of 
the  ^^  council  of  the  princes  and  the  elders ;''  that 
is,  the  princes  were  the  elders. 

And  Jesus  found  this  venerable  institution  still 
in  existence  and  operation.  When  he  entered  the 
temple,  the  chief  priests  and  the  elders  of  the  j^eople 
demanded  of  him,  "  By  what  authority  doest  thou 
these  things?  and  who  gave  thee  this  authority?" 
Matt.  xxi.  23.  And  in  the  crowd  that  under  the 
lead  of  Judas  invaded  the  awful  privacies  of  Geth- 
semane,  elders  of  the  people  held  their  place,  Matt. 
xxvi.  47.  They  were  among  the  accusers  of  Christ 
before  Pilate,  Matt,  xxvii.  12,  and  also  among  the 
counsellors  that  invented  the  falsehood  by  whic;h 
the  soldiers  were  to  account  for  the  disappearance 
of  Jesus  from  the  sepulchre.  Matt,  xxviii.  12. 

It  was  before  the  elders  that  Peter  made  defence 
for  the  healing  of  the  impotent  man,  Acts  iv.  8-23. 
They  condemned  Stephen,  Acts  vi.  12.  Tliey 
were  chief  among  the  persecutors  of  Paul,  Acts 
xxiii.  14. 

Thus,  through  the  whole  course  of  church  his- 
tory preparatory  to  the  inbringing  and  establish- 
ment of  the  New  Testament  system,  w^e  discern  a 
twofold  principle  at  work — that  of  permanence 
coupled    with    that  of  evanescence,  the   changing 


THE  CHURCH.  6? 

with  the  unchanging ;  a  divine  form,  clad  noAV  in 
this  and  now  in  that,  and  now  in  a  still  diiferent 
style  of  apparel.  The  fundamental  doctrine,  like 
its  divine  Author,  is  the  "  same  yesterday,  to-day 
and  for  ever/'  From  the  shutting  of  Eden's  door 
upon  the  fallen  race  to  the  transplanting  of  the 
millennial  paradise  to  that  of  heaven,  the  plan  of 
salvation  is  unchangeably  the  same — -justification 
by  faith  alone,  faith  in  a  substituted,  atoning  Sa- 
viour. 

But  in  its  external  garb  it  underwent  divers  and 
numerous  changes.  Now  it  appears  in  patriarchal 
rites,  antediluvian  and  postdiluvian.  Now  it 
walks  before  us  in  the  peculiarities  of  the  Abra- 
hamic  and  now  of  the  Mosaic  scheme.  Here  we 
find  priest  and  Levite,  and  these  officiating  now  in 
the  ambulatory  tabernacle  and  now  in  the  station- 
ary and  massive  temple.  Now  the  administration 
is  largely  autocratical,  as  under  Moses  and  Joshua, 
and  now  more  formally  republican,  as  under  the 
judges ;  and  now  regal,  from  Saul  to  Zedekiah ; 
and  then  in  exile;  and  then  provincial  under 
Medo-Persian  rule ;  and  then  semi-anarchical  from 
the  death  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  to  the  Romans 
and  the  advent. 

But   through   all   other    changes    the   eldership 


68  JENNY   GEDDES. 

remains  the  one  pillar  of  cloud  by  clay  and  fire  by 
night.  Moses  passes  away  and  Joshua  passes 
away,  and  judges  and  kings  pass  away,  and  with 
Malachi  the  noble,  heroic  race  of  the  old  prophets 
passes  away,  and  at  last  priest,  Levite,  tabernacle 
and  temple,  altar  and  sacrifice,  and  the  holy  city 
itself,  all  are  gone ;  while  the  eldership,  modified, 
indeed,  as  to  some  peculiarities  of  function,  but  the 
same  in  all  its  essential  characteristics,  still  re- 
mains, and  yet  remains,  and  will  remain  as  the 
one  enduring  ruling  office  of  the  Church  of  God 
on  earth  till  the  great  angel  shall  lift  his  hand  and 
swear  that  time  shall  be  no  longer.  And  even  in 
heaven,  where  no  altar,  sacrifice,  priest  or  Levite 
appears,  the  relics  and  memorials  of  the  eldership 
are  still  preserved ;  and  round  about  the  throne 
are  the  four  living  creatures  representing  the  hosts 
ransomed  from  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe,  and 
the  four-and-twenty  elders,  representing  the  angel 
of  the  Church,  its  ministry  and  government — 
twelve  ruling  elders,  and  twelve  preaching  and 
ruling  elders,  according  to  the  number  of  the 
twelve  tribes  of  Israel.* 

When,  then,  we  find  in  the  Church  one  office 
holding  place  through  so  many  centuries,  and  sur- 

^  On  this  subject  see  the  Princeton  Revieiv  for  Jan.,  1847. 


THE  CHURCH.  69^ 

viving  so  many  offices  that  have  passed  away,  we 
might  reasonably  take  it  to  be  a  part  of  the  official 
framework  that  was  to  last  to  the  end,  and  hence 
it  would  awaken  no  surprise  to  see  the  eldership 
pass  from  the  Church  of  the  Old  Testament  into 
that  of  the  New. 

The  Saviour,  in  his  journey ings  in  every  Jewish 
town,  and  the  apostles,  in  very  many  Gentile  com- 
munities, found  the  synagogue.  And  it  was  their 
w^ont,  first  of  all,  within  their  enclosures  to  break 
the  glad  ncAvs  of  the  kingdom:  ''And  when  Jesus 
departed  thence  he  went  into  their  synagogue," 
Matt.  xii.  9.  ''  And  when  he  was  come  into  his 
own  country  he  taught  them  in  their  synagogue," 
Matt.  xiii.  54.  So  Paul  and  Barnabas  on  that 
first  missionary  tour,  when  they  reached  Salamis, 
"  preached  the  word  of  God  in  the  synagogues  of 
the  Jews,"  Acts  xiii.  5.  At  Antioch,  in  Pisidia, 
they  "  went  into  the  synagogue  on  the  Sabbath 
day,"  Acts  xiii.  14.  And  so  at  Iconium,  Acts  xiv. 
1.     And  so  everywhere. 

But  the  leading  feature  in  the  government  and 
worship  of  the  synagogue  was  the  eldership,  com- 
prising a  bench  of  elders,  one  of  whom,  called 
bishop,  overseer  or  angel,  was  the  presiding  officer; 
and  from    this  eldershij)  appeal   lay  to  the  great 


70  JENNY  GEDDES. 

svnao:oo;ue  at  Jerusalem.  And  Avlien,  as  was  no 
doubt  often  the  case,  the  whole  or  the  greater  por- 
tion of  the  synagogue  were  converted  under  the 
preaching  of  an  apostle,  what  more  natural  than 
that  the  synagogue  itself,  just  as  it  stood,  became 
a  Christian  church  ?  And  when  the  synagogue  in 
the  main  clung  to  the  old  faith  and  drove  out  the 
Christian  converts,  what  more  natural  than  that 
they,  with  the  elders  that  believed,  should  at  once 
organize  a  Christian  synagogue  upon  the  model 
with  which  they  were  so  familiar  ? 

In  the  words  of  Archbishop  Whately,  a  dis- 
tinguished and  learned  prelate  of  the  Church  of 
England,  ^^  It  appears  probable  —  I  might  say, 
morally  certain  —  that  wherever  a  Jewish  syna- 
gogue existed  that  w^as  brought,  the  whole  or  the 
chief  part  of  it,  to  embrace  the  gospel,  the  apostles 
did  not  there  so  much  form  a  Christian  church  as 
make  an  existing  congregation  Christian,  by  intro- 
ducing the  Christian  sacraments  and  worship,  and 
establishing  whatever  regulations  were  requisite 
for  the  newly-adopted  faith;  leaving  the  ma- 
chinery (if  I  may  so  speak)  of  government  un- 
changed ;  the  rulers  of  the  synagogue,  elders  and 
other  officers,  whether  spiritual,  ecclesiastical  or 
both,  being  already  provided  in  the  existing  insti- 


THE  CHURCH.  7X 

tution.  And  it  is  likely  that  several  of  the  ear- 
liest Christian  churches  did  originate  in  this  way — 
that  is,  that  they  were  converte<l  synagogues, 
which  became  Christian  churches  as  soon  as  the 
members,  or  the  main  part  of  the  membership, 
acknowledged  Jesus  as  the  Messiah. 

"The  attempt  to  effect  this  conversion  of  a 
Jewish  synagogue  into  a  Christian  church  seems 
always  to  have  been  made,  in  the  first  instance, 
in  every  place  where  there  was  any  opening  for  it. 
Even  after  the  call  of  the  idolatrous  Gentiles,  it 
appears  plainly  to  have  been  the  practice  of  the 
Apostles  Paul  and  Barnabas,  when  they  came  into 
any  city  where  there  was  a  synagogue,  to  go  thither 
first  and  deliver  their  sacred  message  to  the  Jews 
and  ^  devout  (or  proselyte)  Gentiles ;'  according  to 
their  own  expression  (Acts  xiii.  16),  to  the  ^men 
of  Israel  and  those  that  feared  God.' 

"And  wdien  they  found  a  church  in  any  of  those 
cities  in  which  (and  such  were  probably  a  very 
large  majority)  there  was  no  Jewish  synagogue 
that  received  the  gospel,  it  is  likely  they  would 
still  conform  in  great  measure  to  the  same  model." 

This  a  point  of  great  importance.  For  the 
apostles,  at  work  now  upon  the  permanent  organi- 
zation of  the  Church,  would    hardly  begin  upon 


72  JENNY  GEDDES. 

one  model  and  then  end  upon  another.  They 
would  not  form  the  new  converts  into  organiza- 
tions which  must  soon  be  taken  to  pieces  for 
reconstruction  upon  a  different  plan. 

And  this  emerging  of  the  synagogue  into  the 
Christian  church,  this  facile  gliding  of  the  ancient 
eldership  into  its  new  relations  and  clustering  of 
the  new  converts  about  them,  explains  the  strange 
fact  that  no  explicit  mention  is  made  of  the  first 
organization  of  the  Christian  eklership.  Of  the 
organization  of  the  apostolic  office,  and  of  that  of 
the  deacons,  we  have  detailed  account,  wdiile  the 
first  mention  of  the  elders  finds  them  already  in 
office  and  is  purely  incidental !  At  the  prophecy 
of  Agabus,  at  Antioch,  respecting  the  dearth  in 
Judea,  contributions  were  promptly  raised  and 
sent  to  the  elders  by  the  hands  of  Barnabas  and 
Paul,  Acts  xi.  28-30.  And  thus  in  the  mother 
model  church,  at  Jerusalem,  we  find  elders  already 
in  office,  without  a  hint  previous  or  subsequent  as 
to  the  fact,  time  or  mode  of  their  appointment. 

This  quiet  transition  of  the  old  Church  into 
the  new,  of  the  synagogue  into  the  Christian  con- 
gregation, is  in  harmonious  accord  with  the  com- 
mon course  of  Divine  Providence  in  both  the 
natural   and    spiritual    kingdoms.     Except   when 


THE   CHURCH.  73' 

absolutely  necessary  (as  in  the  exodus  from  Egypt), 
there  is  no  violence  of  transition,  no  precipitation 
from  old  into  new  relationships.  In  nature  the 
seasons  glide  quietly  the  one  into  the  other.  The 
night  melts  into  dawn,  and  the  dawn  into  day. 
God  is  never  in  a  hurry.  With  him  one  day  is 
as  a  thousand  years  and  a  thousand  years  as  one 
day.  It  was  by  no  thundering  edict,  no  violent 
convulsion  that  the  old  dispensation  gave  place 
to  the  new.  They  quietly  overlapped  each  other 
until  knitted  together  —  the  latter  absorbed  the 
former.  Christ  was  careful  to  attend  the  great 
national  feasts  in  the  temple,  and  the  last  public 
act  of  his  life  was  to  engraft  the  Supper  upon  the 
Passover.  And  for  many  years  after,  the  Christians 
waited  upon  God  in  the  temple-service,  and  Paul 
sedulously  avoided  everything  that  was  calculated 
needlessly  to  shock  the  prejudices  of  Judaism. 

^'  As  the  Church,"  writes  Neander,  "  was  con- 
tinually increasing  in  size,  the  details  of  its  man- 
agement also  multiplied ;  the  guidance  of  all  its 
affairs  by  the  apostles  could  no  longer  be  con- 
veniently combined  with  the  exercise  of  their  pe- 
culiar apostolic  functions;  they  also  wished,  in 
accordance  with  the  spirit  of  Christianity,  not  to 
govern  alone,  but  preferred  that  the  body  of  the 


.'74  JENNY   GEDBES. 

believers  sliould  govern  tliemselves  under  their 
guidance.  Thus  they  divided  the  government  of 
the  Churcli,  wliich  hitherto  tliey  had  exercised 
alone,  with  tried  men,  wlio  formed  a  presiding 
council  of  elders,  similar  to  that  which  was  known 
in  the  synagogues." 

Thus  it  remains  a  beautiful  illustration  of  the 
identity  of  the  Church,  from  first  to  last,  that  the 
eldership,  the  permanent,  never-changing  charac- 
teristic element  of  the  former  ecclesiastical  system, 
is  retained  as  the  sole  governmental  agency  in  the 
latter  and  the  last. 

6.  These  elders  are  also  called  hislwps  in  the 
New  Testament  records. 

In  the  twentieth  of  the  Acts  we  read  that  Paul 
sent  from  Miletus  to  Ephesus  and  called  to  him 
the  elders  of  the  church  and  said  to  them,  '^  Take 
heed,  therefore,  to  all  the  flock  over  the  which  the 
Holy  Ghost  hath  made  you  overseers'^ — bishops  in 
the  original.  So  also  in  Titus,  the  first  chapter, 
^'  Ordain  elders  in  every  city,  if  any  be  blameless — 
for  a  bishop  must  be  blameless.'' 

So  Neander  writes :  "  The  name  presbyter,  which 
is  the  same  as  that  of  elder,  by  Avhich  this  office 
was  first  distinguished,  was  transferred  from  the 
Jewish  synagogue  to   the  Christian  Church.     But 


THE  CHURCH  75 

when  the  Church  extended  itself  among  Hellenistic 
Gentiles,  with  this  name  borrowed  from  the  civil 
and  religious  constitution  of  the  Jews,  another  was 
joined  thereto,  which  was  more  allied  to  the  de- 
signation of  social  relations  among  the  Greeks  and 
adapted  to  point  out  the  official  duties  connected 
with  the  dignity  of  presbyters.  The  name  episco- 
pol — bishops — denoted  overseers  over  the  whole  of 
the  Church  and  its  collective  concerns,  as  in  Attica 
those  commissioned  to  organize  the  states  depend- 
ent on  Athens  received  the  title  episcopoi;  and,  in 
general,  it  appears  to  have  been  a  frequent  one  for 
denoting  a  guiding  oversight  in  the  public  ad- 
ministration. Since,  then,  the  name  episcopos  was 
no  other  than  a  transference  of  an  originally  Jew- 
ish and  Hellenistic  designation  of  office,  adapted 
to  the  social  relations  of  the  Gentiles,  it  follows 
that  originally  both  names  related  entirely  to  the 
same  office,  and  hence  both  names  are  frequently 
interchanged  as  perfectly  synonymous.  Thus  Paul 
addresses  the  assembled  presbyters  of  the  Ephesian 
Church  as  episcopoi — bishops ;  and  in  1  Tim.  iii. 
1  the  office  is  called  episcop^ — bishopric;  and  in 
verse  8  the  office  of  deacon  is  mentioned  as  the 
only  existing  church  office  besides.  It  is  certain, 
therefore,  that   every  church  was  governed  by  a 


76  JENNY  GEDDES. 

union  of  the  elders  or  overseers  chosen  from  among 
themselves,  and  we  find  among  them  no  individual 
distinguished  above  the  rest  who  presided  as 
"primus  inter  pares — chief  among  equals — though 
probably  in  the  age  immediately  succeeding  the 
apostles"  (and  what  departure  from  primitive  doc- 
trine and  polity  do  we  not  find  in  this  age?)  "the 
practice  was  introduced"  (yes,  introduced)  of  "  ap- 
plying to  such  an  one  the  name  of  episcopos — bish- 
op— by  way  of  distinction." 

Wickliffe,  "the  morning  star  of  the  Reforma- 
tion," was  for  "rejecting  all  human  rites;  and  with 
regard  to  the  identity  of  the  order  of  bishops  and 
priests  in  the  apostolic  age  he  was  very  positive." 
For  in  those  times  he  says  "  the  distinct  orders  of 
pope,  cardinals,  bishops,  archdeacons  and  deacons 
were  not  invented." 

In  England,  as  late  as  King  Edward  VI.,  the 
Reformers  "  believed  but  two  orders  of  churchmen 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures — namely,  bishops  and  dea- 
cons." And  the  early  English  Protestant  clergy 
dared  not  withhold  the  right  hand  of  fellowship 
from  ministers  of  foreign  churches  that  had  not 
been  episcopally  ordained,  "  there  being  no  dispute 
about  reordination,  in  order  to  church  preferment, 
till  tlie  latter  end  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  reign." 


THE  CHURCH.  77 

In  January,  I088,  Bancroft,  chaplain  to  the 
archbishop,  in  a  sermon  at  Paul's  Cross,  broached 
the  novelty  that  ''  the  bishops  of  England  were  a 
distinct  order  from  the  priests,  and  had  superiority 
over  them  by  divine  right  and  directly  from  God/' 
AVhitgift,  the  learned  and  zealous  Prelatist,  said 
of  this  new-fangled  fancy  that  "  he  rather  wished 
tlian  believed  it  to  be  true."  Dr.  John  Reynolds, 
regarded  at  that  time  the  most  learned  man  in  the 
Church  of  England,  in  an  answer  to  this  offensive 
sermon,  said :  "  All  tcho  have  for  Jive  hundred  year's 
last  jj«s^  endeavored  the  reformation  of  the  Church, 
have  taught  that  all  i^astors,  vJiether  they  he  called 
bishops  or  priests,  are  invested  with  equal  aidhority 
and  p>ower — as  first  the  Waldenses,  next  Marsilius 
Patavianus,  then  AVickliffe  and  his  scholars ;  after- 
ward Huss  and  the  Hussites,  and,  last  of  all,  Lu- 
ther, Calvin,  Brentius,  Bullinger  and  Musculus. 
Among  ourselves  we  have  bishops,  the  queen's 
professors  of  divinity  in  our  universities,  and  other 
learned  men  consenting  therein,  as  Bradford,  Lam- 
bert, Jewel,  Pilkington,  etc.  But  why  do  I  speak 
of  particular  persons  ?  It  is  the  common  judgment 
of  the  reformed  churches  of  Helvetia,  Savoy,  France, 
Scotland,  Germany,  Hungary,  Poland,  the  Low 
Countries,  and  our  oivnJ^ 


78  jExyr  geddes. 

Against  such  pressure  of  authority  has  the  fancy 
made  its  way  to  acceptance,  in  one  fragment  of  the 
Church  of  Christ  outside  of  Rome,  that  in  apos- 
tolic times  the  name  bishop  was  anything  more 
than  another  name  for  presbyter  or  elder ! 

This  perfect  equality  among  the  divinely-ap- 
pointed rulers  in  the  Church  does  not  hinder,  if 
temporary  exigencies  require,  the  appointment  by 
his  co-equal  brethren  of  an  elder  to  the  special 
duty  of  oversight  in  some  one  extended  field  of 
labour.  Even  the  pure  Presbyterianism  of  Scot- 
land did  not  hesitate  in  1560,  on  account  of  the 
paucity  of  ministers,  to  divide  the  realm  into  dis- 
tricts, and  appoint  "  one  of  the  Protestant  party  to 
take  the  general  charge  of  religious  matters  in 
each,  giving  them  the  title  of  su}>erintendents ;  but 
when  it  was  proposed  to  make  the  bishop  of  Gal- 
loway superintendent  of  Galloway,  the  proposal 
was  rejected,  lest  the  appointment  of  a  bishop 
should  give  some  colour  to  the  idea  that  the  office 
was  Prelacy  under  a  different  name.'^ 

7.  The  question  now  arises  as  to  the  method 
by  which  men  legitimately  find  their  way  into 
official  position  in  the  Church. 

To  this  it  may  be  answered  that  the  whole  pro- 
cess is    initiated,  controlled  and  concluded  by  the 


THE  CHUBCH.  79 

Spirit  of  God:  "Feed  the  flock  over  wliich  the 
Holy  Ghost  has  made  you  overseers."  In  this 
procedure  his  first  step  is  to  call  men  by  faith  and 
repentance  to  Christ :  "  To  all  that  be  in  Rome 
called  to  be  saints/'  Out  of  the  body  thus  called 
the  officers  of  the  Church  are  to  come.  Even  in 
the  Jewish  commonwealth  no  foreio^ner  could  wear 
the  crown ;  much  less  in  that  of  Christ  may  aliens 
and  strangers  bear  rule.  Then,  in  the  heart  of 
some  professed  and  acknowledged  citizen  of  the 
kingdom,  the  Spirit  Avorks  the  desire  or  willing- 
ness to  fill,  sometimes  pressing  by  powerful  con- 
straint the  candidate  to  seek  admission  into  this 
high  and  holy  office :  '^  For,  though  I  preacb  the 
gospel,  I  have  nothing  to  glory  of;  yea,  woe  is 
unto  me  if  I  preach  not  the  gospel.'' 

And  now  the  Church — the  people — nuist  inter- 
vene. The  candidate  must  apply  to  the  Church, 
or  the  Church,  discerning  through  the  Spirit  his 
evident  qualifications,  must  apply  to  him.  In 
either  case  it  is  the  privilege  and  duty  of  the 
Church  to  utter  its  voice. 

For  the  Church  antecedes  the  officers.  It  is 
her  spiritual  need  that  requires  official  service. 
The  officers  are  for  the  Church,  and  not  the  Church 
for  the   officers.     As  in  tlie  State,  government  is  a 


80  JENNY  GEDDES. 

mere  agency  to  execute  the  will  of  God  for  the 
weal  of  society,  so  in  the  Church.  And  as  in  the 
State  the  inalienable  right  resides  in  the  people 
to  say  who  shall  do  their  work  and  God's  in  the 
solemn  service  of  making  and  executing  laws,  so 
even  more  may  the  acknowledged  citizenship  of 
Christ's  kingdom  have  a  deciding  voice  in  the 
appointment  of  rulers  over  them.  Christ  has  or- 
dained offices  and  incumbents  to  meet  the  spiritual 
necessities  of  his  people,  and  not  that  men  may 
enjoy  governmental  dignities  and  emoluments. 
It  was  to  save  souls  that  Christ  died:  "Christ 
loved  the  Church,  and  gave  himself  for  itj^  The 
Christian,  then,  not  the  officer,  is  the  special  object 
of  Christ's  love — the  Christian  in  or  out  of  official 
position.  An  elder-bishop  may  be  lost — a  Chris- 
tian never  can. 

It  accords  with  the  whole  drift  of  ecclesiastical 
rule,  as  developed  in  both  the  Testaments,  that 
the  people,  as  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  shall  say 
who  shall  bear  rule  over  them.  In  both  the 
rulers  are  emphatically  styled  the  ^^  elders  of  the 
people''  (Ex.  xix.  17;  Matt.  xxi.  23). 

"  Christ,''  writes  Dr.  Cunningham,  "  has  giveii 
to  the  Church  the  ministry  as  well  as  the  oracles 
and  ordinances  of  God.     Rome  declares  that  where 


THE  CHIJBCH.  81 

there  is  not  a  valid  ministry,  there  is  not  a  true 
Church.  Protestantism  answers  that  where  there 
is  a  true  Church,  there  is,  or  may  be,  a  valid  min- 
istry." And  it  is  the  Spirit  of  God  in  the  hearts 
of  the  peoj^le  that  calls  a  man  into  actual  ecclesi- 
astical position. 

As  to  the  scriptural  method  of  procedure  in 
this  matter,  we  are  not  left  without  intimation 
sufficiently  clear  in  the  New  Testament  records. 

"  Respecting  the  election  to  offices  in  the 
Church,"  writes  Neander,  •'  it  is  evident  that  the 
first  deacons,  and  the  delegates  who  were  ap- 
pointed by  the  Church  to  accompany  the  apostles, 
were  chosen  from  the  general  body,  Acts  vi ;  2 
Cor.  viii.  19.  From  these  examples  we  may  con- 
clude that  a  similar  mode  of  procedure  was 
adopted  at  the  appointment  of  presbyters.  But 
from  the  fact  that  Paul  committed  to  his  dis- 
ciples, Timothy  and  Titus — to  whom  he  assigned 
the  organization  of  new  churches  or  such  as  had 
been  injured  by  corruptions  —  the  appointment, 
likewise,  of  presbyters  and  deacons,  and  called 
their  attention  to  the  qualifications  for  such  offices, 
w^e  are  by  no  means  justified  in  concluding  thai 
they  performed  all  this  alone,  without  the  co- 
operation of  the  churches..    The  manner  in  which 


82  JENNY  GEDBES. 

Paul  was  accustomed  to  address  himself  to  the 
whole  Church,  and  to  take  into  account  the  co- 
operation of  the  whole  community,  which  must 
be  apparent  to  every  one  reading  his  epistles, 
leads  us  to  expect  that  where  a  Church  was  al- 
ready established  he  would  admit  it  is  a  party 
in  their  common  concerns.  It  is  possible  that 
the  apostle  himself,  in  many  cases,  as  on  the 
founding  of  a  new  Churchy,  might  think  it  ad- 
visable to  nominate  the  persons  best  fitted  for 
such  offices,  and  a  proposal  from  such  a  quarter 
would  naturally  carry  the  greatest  weight  with 
it.  In  the  example  of  the  family  of  Stephanas, 
at  Corinth,  we  see  that  those  who  first  undertook 
office  in  the  Church  were  members  of  the  family 
first  converted  in  that  city.'' 

The  choice  of  elders  by  the  people  is  not  ob- 
scurely intimated  in  the  very  word  employed  to 
signify  their  ordination  to  office,  as  in  the  four- 
teenth of  Acts — '^  when  they  had  ordained  elders 
in  every  Church. '^  In  this  passage  the  pronoun 
"  they''  seems  to  refer  only  to  Paul  and  Barnabas. 
But  the  word  translated  "ordained"  originally 
signifies  to  vote  by  stretching  out  the  hand,  and 
here  covers  the  whole  process  of  designation  for 
and  induction  into  office.     Hence  the  "they"  in- 


THE   CHURCH.  8S 

clucles,  with   Paul  and    his  assistants,  the  people 
also. 

Baptist  W.  Noel  writes  upon  this  point :  "  Ac- 
cording to  apostolic  precedents,  which  have  the 
force  of  law  among  Christians,  the  churches  elected 
their  ministers ;  and  the  appointment  of  pastors 
for  the  churches  of  Asia  Minor  by  Paul  and  Bar- 
nabas is  thus  recorded  by  Luke :  ^  When  they  had 
elected  elders  for  them  by  the  shoiv  of  hands  in  every 
church,  and  had  prayed  with  fast'mg,  they  commend- 
ed them  to  the  Lord.'  Congregational  election  hav- 
ing thus  been  instituted  by  the  apostles,  continued 
for  a  considerable  period  in  Christian  churches. 
Mosheim,  the  learned  Presbyterian  historian,  Bing- 
ham, the  Episcopalian  collector  of  ecclesiastical 
antiquities,  Dean  Waddington,  Paolo  Sarpi,  the 
Roman  Catholic  historian  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
Council  of  Trent,  and  Beza,  one  of  the  fathers  of 
the  Calvinistic  Church,  Neander,  the  Lutheran  his- 
torian of  our  own  days,  Bost,  the  author  of  the 
'History  of  the  Moravian  Brethren,'  and  even 
Hooker,  w^ith  his  strong  anti-popular  predilec- 
tions, all  acknowledge  this  to  be  the  fact.  Hence, 
congregational  election  became  the  principle  of  all 
the  Calvinistic  and  Presbyterian  churches.  It  was 
recognized   in   the   Saxon,  Helvetic  and   Belgian 


84  JENNY  OEDDES. 

Confessions,  and  the  French  churches  embodied  it 
in  one  of  their  canons  of  discipline." 

The  Keformers  held  "that  the  ordinary  members 
of  the  churches  or  Christian  congregations  had  a 
right  to  choose  their  own  pastors  and  other  office- 
bearers ;  and  that,  of  course,  a  fortiori,  they  were 
fully  entitled  to  prevent  any  pastor  from  being  in- 
truded upon  them  without  their  consent  or  against 
their  will.  This  position  of  the  Reformers  has 
been  disputed,  but  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying 
that  this  is  not  a  question  where  there  is  room  for 
honest  difference  of  opinion  among  competent 
judges.''* 

Thus  there  exists  in  the  New  Testament  Church 
no  ecclesiastical  person  or  body  invested  with  the 
authority  to  impose  an  elder  upon  a  church,  or  to 
constrain  a  church  to  accept  the  services  of  an 
officer  whose  qualifications  they  distrust,  or  who  is 
to  them  from  any  cause  unacceptable. 

Having  now  been  called,  both  by  the  Spirit  in 
his  heart  and  by  the  same  Spirit  through  the 
people,  still  another  step  awaits  the  candidate  be- 
fore he  can  enter  upon  the  functions  of  the  elder- 
ship. The  work  before  him  is  too  solemn,  preg- 
nant with  interests  too  high  and  sacred,  and  with 
*  Cunningham. 


THE  CHURCH.  85 

consequences  too  momentous  to  be  entered  upon 
without  significant  formalities.  He  must  now  be 
ordained.  There  mu§t  be  a  solemn  convocation  of 
the  electors,  the  people,  together  with  the  existing 
eldership.  There  must  be  solemn  religious  ser- 
vices, prayer  and  fasting,  and  laying  on  of  hands 
of  the  eldership,  and  a  solemn  commendation  of 
the  candidate  to  God  and  his  assisting  grace. 
"And  Avhen  they  had  ordained  elders  in  every 
church,  and  had  prayed  with  fasting,  they  com- 
mended them  to  the  Lord  on  whom  they  be- 
lieved," Acts  xiv.  23. 

Thus  it  was  that  Timothy,  the  spiritual  child 
and  beloved  friend  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  was  or- 
dained. "  [N'eglect  not/'  his  spiritual  father  writes 
to  him — "neglect  not  the  gift  that  is  in  thee,  which 
was  given  thee  by  prophecy,  with  the  laying  on  of 
the  hands  of  the  presbytery ^^^  1  Tim.  iv.  14.  Pro- 
phecy had  foretold  his  elevation  to  this  office,  and 
the  local  eldership  or  presbytery,  finding  him  en- 
dowed with  the  proper  qualifications,  ordained 
him.  And  as  the  apostles  were  also  elders — "the 
elders  which  are  among  you  I  exhort,  who  am  also 
an  elder,"  1  Pet.  v.  1 — they  with  their  brethren 
participated  in  the  laying  on  of  hands.  So  Paul 
took  part  in  the  ordination  of  Timothy  :  "  Where- 


86  JENNY  GEDDES. 

fore  I  put  thee  in  remembrance  that  tliou  stir  np 
the  gift  of  God  which  is  in  thee  by  the  putting  on 
of  my  hands/'  2  Tim.  i.  6.  Of  what  particular 
persons  other  than  Paul  this  presbytery  was  com- 
posed we  are  not  told.  If  other  apostles  took  part 
in  the  transaction,  they  did  so  as  presbyters,  as 
elders,  for  a  ijreshytery  can  consist  only  of  such. 
And  no  ingenuity  of  criticism,  no  shrewd  hints  as 
to  the  specific  meaning  of  terms,  no  suggestions  as 
to  what  might  have  been,  have  ever  been  able  to 
w^rest  these  passages  to  any  other  meaning  than 
that  which  lies  upon  their  face  as  a  simple,  plain 
record  of  presbyterial  ordination. 

8.  And  now  what  authority,  what  powers,  has 
the  candidate  found  in  the  office  into  which  he 
has  entered  ? 

The  original  source  of  all  ecclesiastical  power 
is  the  Saviour  alone.  Under  him  all  power  is  in 
the  Church  —  the  mass  of  the  Christian  people. 
But  inasmuch  as  the  office-bearers  in  the  Church 
are  the  representatives  of  the  people,  and,  for  the 
purposes  of  their  office,  are  the  people,  the  general 
authority  belonging  to  the  Church  is  aggregated 
in  the  office.  Who  shall  exercise  this  authority 
the  people  are  to  say ;  but  when  the  candidate 
reaches   the  office,  he  finds  there   certain  powers. 


THE  CHURCH.  87 

and  when  he  leaves  that  office  he  leaves  those 
powers  where  he  found  them. 

At  this  point  there  is  a  break  in  the  analogy 
between  sacred  and  secular  government.  In  the 
latter  the  people  may  create  or  abolish  offices, 
change  the  whole  framework  of  government;  may 
withdraw  powers  from  one  office  and  transfer 
them  to  another.  Not  so  in  the  Church.  No 
other  ecclesiastical  office  may  be  created  than 
those  designated  in  the  New  Testament,  and  no 
authority,  civil  or  religious,  may  either  enlarge 
or  contract  the  powers  ordained  for  such  offices. 
An  elder  may  be  called  to  discharge  a  great  va- 
riety of  duties,  but  in  all  he  retains  the  sole  eccle- 
siastical grade  of  an  elder,  and  as  such  can  legiti- 
mately possess  and  wield  no  other  powers  than 
those  of  the  eldership. 

"The  constitution  and  laws  of  His  kingdom 
have  been  fixed  by  him,  and  cannot  by  any 
human  authority  be  altered,  abrogated,  or  ex- 
tended. The  office-bearers  of  God's  Church  are 
not  lords  over  God's  heritage;  they  have  no  do- 
minion over  man's  faith ;  no  jurisdiction  over 
the  conscience,  but  are  the  mere  interpreters  of 
Christ's  will,  the  mere  administrators  of  the  laws 
which  he  has  enacted." 


SS  JENNY   GEDDES. 

The  office  of  the  eldership  embraced  a  twofold 
function — preaching,  and,  as  has  already  been 
shown,  ruling  also.  Both  were  joined  in  that  of 
the  teaching-elder,  while  the  ruling-elder  as  such 
never  officially  dispensed  the  Word  and  sacra- 
ments. 

The  duty  of  the  preaching-elder  is  pointed  out 
in  Titus  i.  5,  9  : 

"  For  this  cause  I  left  thee  in  Crete,  that  thou 
shouldst  set  in  order  the  things  that  are  wanting 
and  ordain  elders  in  every  city,  holding  fast  the 
faithful  word  as  he  hath  been  taught,  that  he 
may  be  able  by  sound  doctrine  both  to  exhort  and 
convince  the  gainsayers." 

Sometimes  these  duties  are  mentioned  together, 
as  in  1  Tim.  v.  17  :  ^'  Let  the  elders  that  rule  well 
be  counted  worthy  of  double  honour,  especially 
they  who  labour  in  word  and  in  doctrineJ' 

"It  is  surely  abundantly  evident  in  Scripture 
that  pastors  have  a  power  of  ruling — of  exercising 
a  certain  ministerial  authority  in  administering, 
according  to  Christ's  word,  the  ordinary,  neces- 
sary business  of  his  Church,  and  we  have  irre- 
fragable evidence  in  Paul's  address  to  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Ephesus  that  he  contemplated  no  other 
provision  for  the  government  of  the  Church,  and 


THE  CHURCH.  89 

the  prevention  of  schism  and  heresy,  than  the 
presbyters  or  bishops  faithfully  discharging  the 
duties  of  their  office^  in  ruling  as  well  as  preach- 
ing"   {Cunningham). 

This  power  is  involved  in  the  very  idea  of  the 
eldership.  The  elders  of  the  people  are  the  peo- 
ple's representatives  and  act  for  them  in  Christ's 
name.  These  elders  of  the  Church  are,  for  gov- 
erning purposes,  within  their  legitimate  sphere, 
the  Church  itself.  Their  official  acts  are  the  acts 
of  the  Church  for  which  they  act. 

When  the  parochial  eldership  receives  a  candi- 
date to  the  communion-table,  in  accordance  with 
the  laws  of  Christ,  it  is  the  Church  that  issues 
the  decree  of  admission.  And  the  act  of  a  single 
such  eldership,  in  many  cases,  binds  the  whole 
Church  of  Christ;  for  in  and  through  them,  by 
his  Spirit,  Christ  himself  is  acting.  If,  on  proper 
grounds,  this  eldership  admits  one  to  the  com- 
munion-table, it  admits  him  to  membership  in 
the  Church  of  Christ,  and  no  particular  church, 
with  evidence  of  this  admission  and  without  evi- 
dence that  he  has  proved  himself  unworthy  of 
his  position,  may,  without  gross  wrong,  forbid 
that  one  a  place  at  the  Supper  of  the  Lord. 

And,  as  has  already  been   made  apparent,  this 


90  JENNY  GEDDES. 

eldership  is  invested  with  all  needful  authority 
and  powers  of  discipline  witliin  its  sphere.  For, 
as  no  individual  or  body  of  officers  is  gifted  with 
insight  into  the  heart,  it  is  impossible  to  guard 
against  the  introduction  of  the  unworthy — wolves 
in  sheep's  clothing — or  of  some  Avho  have  mis- 
taken a  sudden  glow  of  religious  feeling  for  true 
inborn  piety.  Then,  even  the  truly  good  may, 
under  temptation,  be  led  astray  in  word,  deed  or 
doctrine.  And  these  evils  unchecked  would  de- 
vour and  destroy  the  Church.  Hence,  to  meet 
exigencies  that  may  arise  through  human  im2)er- 
fection  and  sin,  and  to  quell  disorders,  the  pa- 
rochial presbytery  is  authorized  and  bound  to 
vigilant  watchfulness,  to  reprove,  rebuke,  exhort, 
to  try,  censure  and  expel,  according  as  the  case 
may  require. 

The  fundamental  law  for  the  exercise  of  such 
authority  is  laid  down  by  our  Saviour  himself: 
*'  Moreover,  if  thy  brother  trespass  against  thee, 
go  and  tell  him  of  his  fault  between  thee  and 
him  alone ;  if  he  shall  hear  thee,  thou  hast  gained 
thy  brother.  But  if  he  will  not  hear  thee,  then 
take  with  thee  one  or  two  more,  that  in  the  mouth 
of  two  or  three  witnesses  every  word  may  be 
established.     And  if  he  shall  neglect  to  hear  them, 


THE  CHURCH.  91 

tell  it  to  the  Church;  but  if  he  shall  neglect  to 
hear  the  Church,  let  him  be  unto  thee  as  an  heathen 
man  and  a  publican/^  Matt,  xviii.  15-17. 

"  In  regard  to  this  passage  it  may  be  remarked, 
first,  that  it  is  to  be  presumed  that  the  Saviour 
designed  to  embody  the  principles  of  discipline 
here  so  that  they  might  be  applied  in  all  ages  of 
the  world,  and  so  that  this  in  all  circumstances 
would  be  an  adequate  direction.  There  is  not 
anywhere  in  the  Xew  Testament  a  more  formal 
direction  given  on  the  subject  of  discipline,  and 
it  can  hardly  be  presumed  that  on  such  an  occa- 
sion the  Saviour  would  have  omitted  what  he  de- 
signed should  be  an  essential  and  permanent  prin- 
ciple. Second,  the  apostles  had  been  chosen  and 
ordained  before  that  direction  was  given  (Matt,  x.), 
and  if  he  had  designed  that  they  alone  should 
have  the  power  of  administering  discipline,  it  is 
unaccountable  that  there  is  no  intimation  whatever 
that  so  important  a  function  was  conferred  on 
them.  The  direction  ^  tell  it  to  the  Church^  is  not 
one  which  would  be  understood  as  referring  to  the 
apostles  as  being  in  fact  ^  the  Church.'  It  is  a 
direction  which  would  be  naturally  understood  as 
referring  to  the  assembly  of  the  faithful"  [Barnes). 

Thus  we  have  a  single  congregation  under  the 


92  JENNY  GEDDES. 

oversight  and  control  of  a  single  eldership ;  but 
not  far  away,  on  all  sides,  are  others  like  them. 
Is  it  the  will  of  Christ  that  these  bodies  shall 
remain  in  isolation  from  one  another,  each  pursu- 
ing its  own  course,  itself  the  only  interpreter  of 
Christ's  laws  for  itself,  and  thus,  through  the  di- 
versity of  views  incident  to  human  nature,  working 
confusion  and  frequent  collision?  Far  from  it. 
God  never  made  an  anarchy;  in  his  domains 
order  and  harmonious  adjustment  of  inferior  to 
superior  reign  everywhere  in  nature,  and  not  less 
so  in  the  Chinxh  of  Christ.  Christ's  coat  is  seam- 
less; Christ's  body  is  one,  and  his  Church  is  that 
body.  It  is  a  kingdom,  with  careful  subjection 
of  inferior  to  superior  authority ;  and  all  these 
churches  are  bound  to  realize  the  great  principle 
of  constitutional  unity  inherent  in  his  Church. 
If  the  will  of  the  great  King  were  not  hindered 
by  human  imperfection,  all  the  particular  congre- 
gations in  the  widest  empires  would  be  found 
joined  together,  not  only  in  harmonious  alliance, 
but  under  subordination  to  one  great  supervising, 
controlling  power. 

How  necessary  such  union  is,  is  seen  in  the 
simple  fact  that,  except  in  cases  that  very  rarely 
occur,  no  individual  congregation  can  so  much  as 


THE  CHURCH.  93 

become  organized  under  a  parocliial  eldership  with- 
out the  interposition  of  the  eldership  above  them. 
No  congregation,  no  one  man,  may  ordain  another 
to  the  high  office  of  the  pastorate;  hence  a  number 
of  churches  within  convenient  reach  are  by  nature, 
as  it  were,  and  by  New  Testament  hiw,  associated 
in  subordination  to  the  aggregate  eklership  of  the 
body ;  and  these  ten,  twenty,  or  thirty  elders  in 
convocation,  according  to  the  original  and  true 
idea  of  the  eldership,  are,  for  governing  purposes, 
the  Church  they  represent.  Tliey  together  consti- 
tute the  'presbytery  spoken  of  by  Paul  in  1  Tim. 
iv.  14. 

And  as  presbyteries  and  councils  may  err  at  all 
times,  and  especially  in  their  insight  into  charac- 
ter, and  as  men  are  often  deceived  with  regard  to 
themselves,  it  follows  that  unworthy  men  will 
sometimes  find  way  into  the  eldership  aiid  become 
heresiarchs,  teaching  doctrines  of  devils,  and,  as 
wolves,  devour  the  flock  they  were  ordained  to  feed. 
Hence,  the  power  to  admit  to  office  for  the  good  of 
the  flock  involves  the  power  to  oversee  and  watch 
those  once  admitted,  and  to  censure  and  eject  from 
office  those  wlio  betray  their  trust. 

And  to  this  higher  eldership  is  committed  the 
watchful   oversight  of  tlie   aggregate  of  churches 


94"  JENNY  GEDDES. 

Avliich  they  represent.  They  must  hold  pastors 
and  churches  to  their  duty — may,  in  accordance 
with  the  laws  of  Christ,  lay  commands  upon  them, 
and  see  that  those  commands  are  obeyed,  or  con- 
strain delinquents  to  show  good  cause  for  disobe- 
dience— may  inspect  the  records  of  their  proceed- 
ings, and  approve  or  censure.  If  a  congregation 
fall  into  divisions  or  corruptions  which  the  paro- 
chial eldership,  either  through  indifference  or  in- 
ability, fails  to  reprove  and  rectify,  then  the  whole 
duty  passes  legitimately  into  the  hands  of  the  su- 
perior eldership.  Thus  the  powers  inherent  in  a 
lesser  also  inhere  in  the  larger  presbytery,  and  what 
a  parochial  presbytery  may  do  in  a  congregation 
the  superior  presbytery  may  do,  if  occasion  call,  in 
any  or  all  the  congregations  within  its  bounds. 

But  a  Church  may  include  thousands  of  congre- 
gations spread  over  a  wide  territory,  making  it 
impracticable  for  any  one  presbytery  to  meet  and 
exercise  proper  supervision  over  all.  Hence,  pres- 
byteries must  be  multiplied ;  new  centres  of  eccle- 
siastical authority  must  be  located,  and  contiguous 
presbyteries,  each  invested  with  like  authority,  over- 
spread the  land. 

But  what  about  the  relation  of  these  presbyteries 
to  one  another  ?     May  they  exist  severally  in  inde- 


THE  CHURCH.  95 

pendent  isolation?  Does  chiircli  government  begin 
in  order  and  end  in  anarchy  ?  By  no  means ;  the 
Church,  however  large,  is  still  one  body,  and  its 
inlierent  unity  must  still  find  embodied  expression. 
This  is  done  either  by  the  constitution  of  an  elder- 
ship or  presbytery,  which  shall  embrace  the  whole 
body  of  existing  rulers  in  the  Church ;  or,  if  this 
be  impracticable,  each  presbytery  may  appoint  a 
given  number  of  its  members  to  assemble  at  spe- 
cified times,  and  thus  form  the  great  presbytery — 
^'  the  angel"  of  the  whole  Church.  And  the  fact 
that  this  body  is  a  body  of  delegates,  and  not  the 
actual  aggregate  of  rulers  in  the  Church,  implies 
no  modification  of  its  powers  as  a  true  presbytery, 
for  even  the  parochial  presbytery  is  also  a  repre- 
sentativ^e  body  standing  for  the  church  it  repre- 
sents. And  the  presbytery  next  higher  is  also  a 
representative  body,  embracing  only  a  part  of  the 
actual  congregational  elderships  within  its  bounds. 
And  it  is  the  essential  idea  and  spirit  of  the  repre- 
sentative eldership  that  it  stands  for,  and  for  pur- 
poses of  government  is,  the  Church  it  represents, 
whether  that  eldership  be  that  of  a  single  congre- 
gation or  that  of  a  wide  provincial  Church. 

AVe  have  already  seen  that  in   apostolic  times 
individual  churches  were  organized  by  the  ordina- 


96  JENNY  GEDDES. 

tion  of  elders  in  each  one ;  and  we  have  also  seen 
these  churches  organized  under  presbyteries,  or- 
daining to  office  and  administering  discipline.  Let 
us  now  glance  at  the  records  of  the  first  gene- 
ral PRESBYTERY  assembled  at  Jerusalem. 

The  inspired  account  of  this  presbytery,  as 
found  in  Acts  xv.,  well  illustrates  and  confirms  the 
principle  that  the  office-bearers  of  a  given  church 
are,  as  such,  invested  with  authority  to  decide  ju- 
dicially "  any  disputes  that  may  arise  about  the 
affiiirs  of  the  church — to  be  the  ordinary  interpret- 
ers and  administrators  of  Christ's  laws  for  the 
government  of  his  house.'' 

Some  questions  had  arisen  at  Antioch  respecting 
the  relations  of  the  old  dispensation  to  the  new — 
as  to  how  far  certain  of  its  laws  were  binding  on 
converts,  whether  from  Judaism  or  from  among 
the  Gentiles.  These  questions  were  of  general  in- 
terest to  the  Church,  inasmuch  as  Jews  were  scat- 
tered far  and  wide  among  the  Gentiles,  and  their 
synagogues  interspersed  all  over  the  civilized 
world  among  heathen  temples.  As  the  decision  of 
these  questions  was  to  bind  the  whole  Church,  the 
apostles  themselves  judged  it  expedient  that  the 
voice  of  the  whole  Church  be  heard  in  the  decision. 

Accordingly,  it  was  determined  that  "  Paul  and 


THE   CHURCH,  97 

Barnabas,  and  certain  others  of  them,  sliould  go 
up  to  Jerusalem  unto  the  apostles  and  elders  about 
this  question." 

This  reference  to  Jerusalem  is  somewhat  remark- 
able ;  for  already  judgment  had  been  given  upon 
the  question  by  an  inspired  apostle,  and  one  of  no 
secondary  rank,  and  his  judgment  had  the  concur- 
rence of  his  missionary  companion  Barnabas.  It 
seems  strange,  therefore,  that  the  Christians  of 
Antioch  should  for  one  moment  have  withheld 
their  acquiescence.  But  doubtless  this  thing  was 
of  the  Lord.  The  time  was  coming  when  the 
ministry  of  the  apostles  would  end,  and  they 
would  pass  away,  leaving  no  successors  behind ; 
and  as,  after  their  departure,  questions  of  moment 
would  arise  which  only  the  Church  in  council 
could  decide,  it  was  of  the  highest  importance  that 
some  precedent  should  be  set  under  apostolic  sanc- 
tion that  might  serve  as  a  guide  in  this  branch  of 
church  government.  For  this  reason,  therefore, 
among  others.  Divine  providence  ordained  the  for- 
mal reference  of  this  matter  to  the  Great  Presby- 
tery sitting  within  the  bounds  of  the  mother 
Church  at  Jerusalem. 

In  due  time  we  find  the  council  assembled  in 
solemn  convocation.     It  consisted  of  apostles  and 


98  JENNY  GEDDES. 

elders ;  for,  after  the  formal  reception  of  the  com- 
missioners from  Antioch,  "the  Church  and  the 
apostles  and  elders'^  coming  together  to  receive 
them  and  hear  the  "  things  that  God  had  done 
with  them''  (v.  4) — afteh  this — "the  apostles 
the  elders  came  together  for  to  consider  the  mat- 
ter" (v.  6).  None  others,  then,  than  apostles  and 
elders  were  formal,  legitimate  members  of  this 
body;  for  the  decrees  there  issued  are  explicitly 
said  to  have  been  "  ordained  of  the  apostles  and 
elders  which  were  at  Jerusalem." 

In  this  council  there  was  "much  disputation;" 
then  Peter  made  an  address ;  then  Paul  and  Bar- 
nabas declared  "  what  miracles  and  wonders  God 
had  wrought  among  the  Gentiles  by  them."  Then 
James,  who  may  have  acted  as  moderator  of 
the  convocation,  probably  having  been  elected 
thereto  by  his  brethren,  summed  up  the  matter 
and  gave  his  judgment,  introducing  it  with  the 
words,  "  Wherefore  my  sentence  is."  "  My  sen- 
tence is" — literally,  "I  judge"  (as  in  the  Rhemish 
version;  Wicliif — I  deem).  A  common  formula,  by 
which  the  members  of  the  Greek  assemblies  in- 
troduced the  expression  of  their  individual  opinion, 
as  appears  from  its  repeated  occurrence  in  Thu- 
cydides,  with  which   may  be  compared  the  corre- 


THE  CHUnCH.  99 

spondiqg  Latin  phrase,  sic  ceiiseo,  of  frequent  use 
in  Cicero's  orations  [Dr.  Addison  Alexander). 

This  view  of  the  matter  was  so  evidently  just 
and  judicious  that  it  was  accepted  by  the  council, 
and  embodied  in  a  decree  which  was  binding  on 
all  the  churches.  The  tone  of  authority  in  this 
decree  is  very  manifest :  "  It  seemeth  good  to 
the  Holy  Ghost  and  to  us  to  lay  no  greater  bur- 
den than  these  necessary  things.''  And  in  the 
missionary  tour  that  followed,  Paul  delivered  to 
the  churches  the  decrees  ordained  of  the  apostles 
and  elders  at  Jerusalem,  "  for  to  keep ;"  that  is, 
to  observe  with  strict  obedience.  Thus  we  see 
that,  first,  the  question  was  referred  by  the  Church 
at  Antioch  to  the  '^apostles  and  elders^'  at  Jeru- 
salem, Acts  XV.  2.  And  then  that  the  "  apostles 
and  elders  came  together  to  consider  the  matter,'' 
V.  6.  And,  finally,  that  the  decrees  are  explicitly 
said  to  have  been  ordained  of  the  ^^  apostles  and 
elders/^  xvi.  4.  Thus  this  council  was  composed 
exclusively  of  office-bearers. 

But  who  were  actually  and  formally  represented 
in  this  first  presbytery?  We  answer,  the  ivhole 
Church.  The  Church  of  Jerusalem  was  formally 
represented  by  its  elders,  and  the  apostles,  being 
elders  by  virtue  of  their  apostolic  office,  represented 


100  JENNY  GEDDES. 

all  the  churches.  Thus  this  was  in  reality  a  coun- 
cil of  the  whole  Church. 

It  is  noticeable,  also,  that  the  people  attended 
and  manifested  great  interest  in  the  proceedings 
of  the  body  :  "  Then  all  the  multitude  kept  silence 
and  gave  audience  to  Barnabas  and  Paul,"  xv.  12. 
And  they  expressed  their  satisfaction  with  the 
result ;  and  this  fact  is  mentioned  in  the  wording 
of  the  decree  as  an  additional  evidence  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  brooded  over  and  led  their  delibe- 
rations to  the  conclusion  reached.  The  people 
may  have  been  invited  to  take  active  part  in  the 
deliberations,  though  this  is  not  affirmed. 

But  the  narrative  may  suggest  that  this  point 
has  been  too  much  overlooked  in  later  times. 
Why  might  it  not  conduce  to  wisdom  in  ecclesi- 
astical decisions  to  invite  laymen  of  acknowledged 
experience  and  piety,  especially  when  difficult 
questions  arise,  to  be  present  in  the  presbyteries, 
larger  or  smaller,  and  give  their  views  and  ad- 
vice, without  joining  in  the  decision  ?  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  see  how  any  harm  could  arise,  and  very 
easy  to  see  how,  sometimes,  great  good  might 
accrue  from  such  a  course. 

In  1641,  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland    sent   a   letter   to   their   Presbyterian 


THE  CHURCH.  101 

brethren  in  England,  who  had  asked  their  opinion 
in  regard  to  the  congregational  scheme  of  church 
government,  which  contained  the  following  passage  ; 
^'  Not  only  the  solemn  execution  of  ecclesiastical 
i:>ower  and  authority,  but  the  whole  exercise  and 
acts  thereof,  do  properly  belong  unto  the  officers  of 
the  Kirk;  yet  so  that  in  matters  of  chiefest  im- 
portance the  tacit  consent  of  the  congregation  be 
had  before  their  decrees  and  sentences  receive  final 
execution/'  Henderson  says:  "Nothing  useth  to 
be  done  by  the  lesser  or  greater  presbytery  in 
ordering  the  public  worship,  in  censuring  of  de- 
linquents, or  bringing  them  to  public  repentance, 
but  according  to  the  settled  order  of  the  Church, 
and  with  express  or  tacit  consent  of  the  congre- 
gation." Gillespie  Avrites :  "  It  is  objected  by  the 
Independents  that  w^hat  concerneth  all  ought  to 
be  done  with  the  consent  of  all.  We  hold  the 
same  ;  but  the  consent  of  all  is  one  thing  and  the 
exercise  of  jurisdiction  by  all  another  thing." 
And  in  commenting  upon  the  council  of  Jerusa- 
lem, he  says :  "  The  apostles  and  elders  met,  sat 
and  voiced  apart  from  the  whole  Church,  and  they 
alone  judged  and  decreed.  In  the  mean  while,  were 
matters  made  known  to  the  whole  Church  and  done 
with  the  consent  of  all.      The  brethren  are  men- 


102  JENNY  GEDDES. 

tioned  (along  with  the  apostles  and  elders)  because 
it  was  done  with  their  knowledge,  consent  and 
applause.  "  These  were  the  views/'  writes  Dr.  Cun- 
ningham, from  whom  we  are  quoting,  "entertained 
upon  this  subject  by  the  men  to  whom  we  are 
indebted  for  the  standards  of  our  Church,  who 
held  that  they  were  sanctioned  by  the  inspired 
narrative  of  the  council  of  Jerusalem,  wliile  they 
held  also  that  neither  this  nor  any  other  portion 
of  the  New  Testament  warranted  or  required  the 
ascription  to  the  people  of  any  higher  place  or 
standing  than  this  in  the  ordinary  administration 
of  ecclesiastical  affairs." 

Thus  the  presbyters  in  session,  acting  as  the 
rulers  of  the  Church,  -are  for  governing  purposes 
the  Church  they  represent,  whether  that  body  be 
smaller  or  larger,  or  the  largest  of  all. 

"  The  radical  principles  of  Presbyterian  Church 
government  and  discipline  are,  that  the  several 
different  congregations  of  believers,  taken  collec- 
tively; constitute  one  Church  of  Christ,  called  em- 
phatically the  Church;  that  a  larger  part  of  the 
Church,  or  a  representation  of  it,  should  govern  a 
smaller,  or  determine  matters  of  controversy  which 
arise  therein;  that  in  like  manner  a  representation 
of    the   whole   should   govern    and   determine   in 


THE  CHURCH.  103 

regard  to  every  2)art  and  to  all  the  parts  united — 
that  is,  a  majority  shall  govern — and  consequently 
that  appeals  may  be  carried  from  lower  to  higher 
judicatories,  till  they  finally  be  decided  by  the 
voice  of  the  ichole  ChurcN^  (Presbyterian  Form  of 
Government,  p.  425). 

In  this  extract  the  Great  Presbytery,  including 
the  aggregate  of  its  ruling  eldership,  or,  what  is 
the  same  thing,  their  legitimate  representativ^es,  is 
for  purposes  of  government  and  discipline,  the 
Church.  And  the  necessity  for  such  a  governing 
body,  such  an  ^^  angel  of  the  Church,"  is  involved 
in  the  actual  and  necessary  unity  of  the  Church, 
and  in  the  inherent  right  of  every  member  of  the 
Church  to  have,  if  occasion  calls,  the  voice  of  his 
Church,  the  voice  of  the  Christian  body  to  which 
he  belongs,  upon  questions  that  lie  between  him 
and  his  opposers.  It  is  his  Christian  birth-right 
to  be  defended  against  wrong  by  the  angel  of  his 
Church.  And  this  Church,  this  angel,  is  not  this 
or  that  congregation,  this  or  that  presbytery,  this 
or  that  synod,  for  these  are  but  fragments  of  the 
Church,  not  its  whole.  The  Church  therefore, 
which  is  his  ultimate  protector  from  wrong  or  his 
ultimate  censurcr  in  wrong,  is  the  Great  Presby- 
tery, the  General  Assembly. 


104  JENNY  GEBDES. 

It  was  the  right  of  the  Christians  of  Antioch  to 
have  a  decision  of  the  questions  that  agitated  the 
congregation  from  the  lips  of  the  Church  in  ses- 
sion at  Jerusalem.  This  Church  thus  assembled 
shall  "receive  and  issue  all  appeals  and  references 
which  may  be  regularly  brought  before  them  from 
the  inferior  judicatories.  They  shall  review  the 
records  of  every  synod^' — which  in  its  sphere  has 
already  reviewed  the  records  of  every  presbytery 
within  its  bounds,  and  which  presbyteries  have 
reviewed  the  records  of  every  congregation  seve- 
rally within  their  bounds — "  and  approve  or  cen- 
sure them;  they  shall  give  their  advice  and  instruc- 
tion in  all  cases  submitted  to  them  in  conformity 
with  the  constitution  of  the  Church ;  and  they 
shall  constitute  the  bond  of  union,  peace,  corre- 
spondence and  mutual  confidence  among  all  our 
churches." 

To  this  Assembly  also  belongs — belongs  by  inhe- 
rent right,  as  the  Church — "  the  power  of  deciding 
all  controversies  respecting  doctrine  and  discipline ; 
of  reproving,  warning,  or  bearing  testimony  against 
error  In  doctrine  or  immorality  in  practice  in  amy 
churchj  presbytery  or  synod  ;  of  erecting  new  synods 
when  it  may  be  judged  necessary ;  of  superintend- 
ing the  concerns  of  the  whole  Church;  of  correspond- 


THE  CHURCH.  105 

ing  with  foreign  churches  on  such  terms  as  may  be 
agreed  upon  by  the  Assembly  and  the  correspond- 
ing body;  of  suppressing  schismatical  contentions 
and  disputations;  and,  in  general,  of  recommend- 
ing and  attempting  reformation  of  manners  and 
the  promotion  of  charity,  truth  and  holiness 
through  all  the  churches  under  their  care!"^  {Form 
of  Government^  p.  426). 

Such,  according  to  the  New  Testament,  is  the 
only  legitimate  form  of  church  government — a 
government  by  an  eldership — of  a  single  congrega- 
tion by  its  eldership — a  government  of  a  cluster  of 
congregations  with  their  several  elderships  by  the 
aggregate  eldership  of  the  cluster — and  a  supreme 
government  over  all  by  the  whole  body  of  the 
eldership  assembled  either  in  mass  or  by  represen- 
tation. 

9,  This  apostolic  form  of  church  government 
seems  to  have  resisted  both  the  encroachments  of 
corruption  and  the  violence  of  bloody  persecution 
through  the  ages  from  the  earliest  times  in  the 
valleys  of  Piedmont.  There  the  faithful  Wal- 
denses  clung,  as  they  even  yet  cling,  to  all  the 
essential  principles  of  Presbyterianism. 

^^As  early  as  the  sixteenth  century,'^  writes  Dr. 
Smytlie,    ^^  the   AValdensian   polity    was    precisely 


106  JEN]SiY  GEDDES. 

what  it  is  now.  Every  church  had  its  consistory; 
every  consistory  and  pastor  was  subject  to  the 
synod,  and  it  was  composed  of  all  the  pastors  with 
elders.  Over  this  synod  one  of  the  ministers  was 
chosen  by  his  brethren,  and  without  any  second 
ordination  presided.  This  presiding  minister  was 
called  then,  as  he  is  called  now,  Moderator.  He 
was  required,  in  accordance  with  the  plan  of  the 
early  Scottish  Church,  to  visit  different  parishes 
and  to  ordain — only  in  conjunction  tenth  other 
ministers.  But  he  was  in  all  things  responsible 
to  the  synod  by  which  he  had  been  appointed  to 
office.'' 

And  Milner  (chap.  iii.  vol.  ii.)  quotes  the  follow- 
ing from  a  book  concerning  their  pastors :  "  The 
})astors  meet  together  once  every  year  to  settle  our 
affairs  in  a  general  synod.  The  money  given  us 
by  the  people  is  carried  to  the  said  general  synod, 
and  is  there  received  by  the  elders." 

10.  It  is  also  peculiarly  gratifying  to  Presbyte- 
rians to  note  the  fact  that  the  Reformers,  '^  when 
they  broke  from  the  shackles  of  Romanism,  almost 
with  one  consent  adopted  the  fundamental  princi- 
ples of  presbyterian  polity.  To  this  the  Church 
of  England  constituted  the  sole  exception ;  for  in 
England,  while  sound  evangelical   principles  were 


THE  CHURCH.  107 

working  like  a  mighty  leaven  among  the  masses 
of  the  people^  the  formal  disseverance  from  Rome 
was  much  more  a  political  than  a  religious  move- 
ment. Henry  VIII.,  hampered  and  tormented  by 
the  duplicities  and  tergiversations  of  the  Pope  in 
the  matter  of  the  divorce,  was  gradually  led  to  see 
that  the  prerogatives  of  his  crown  as  then  under- 
stood, and  also  the  rights  of  his  subjects,  were  in- 
vaded on  all  sides  by  the  papacy ;  and,  advancing 
from  step  to  step,  he  ended  by  substituting  himself 
in  the  place  of  the  pope  as  head  of  the  English 
Church. 

Afterward,  when  the  new  system  had  taken 
form,  and  the  need  was  felt  for  some  defender  of 
its  validity,  one  was  found  in  the  learned,  eloquent, 
"judicious"  Hooker,  whose  work  on  "  Ecclesiasti- 
cal Polity"  very  naturally  received  the  commenda- 
tion of  Pope  Clement  YIII.  as  one  in  which  there 
were  '^such  seeds  of  eternity  as  will  continue  till 
the  last  fire  shall  devour  all  learning." 

In  the  famous  fourth  and  fifth  propositions  of 
that  work  he  maintains  that  "  the  Church,  like 
all  other  societies,  is  invested  with  the  power  of 
making  laws  for  its  well-being,  and  that  where 
Scripture  is  silent  human  axithority  may  interpose." 
-    Now,   while  these   propositions  are  capable  of 


108  JENNY  GEDDES. 

being  employed  either  in  behalf  of  Papacy,  Prelacy 
or  Presbyterianism,  yet  as  used  by  their  author 
they  imply  certain  very  explicit  and  thoroughly 
groundless  assumptions. 

It  is  therein  assumed  that  the  Scripture  is  silent 
on  those  points  of  church  government  in  dispute 
between  Prelacy  and  Presbyterianism.  Nay  it 
embodies  in  explicit  statements  the  whole  process 
of  church  organization  under  and  government  by 
the  eldership.  It  is  also  assumed  that  the  Church 
ordained  the  fundamental  laws  of  the  English 
ecclesiastical  establishment.  The  Church!  Was 
Henry  YIII.,  with  his  ministers — was  the  imperi- 
ous  Elizabeth,  with  her  courtiers  and  statesmen — 
in  any  sense  the  Church  f  ^yas  even  the  mass  of 
the  clergy  of  England  for  many  a  long  day  even  in 
membership  with  the  Church  of  Christ?  At  the 
"  Reformation"  in  England  the  old  Romish  clergy 
were  not  even  dispossessed  of  their  places,  but, 
constrained  by  the  rigours  of  authority,  they  hypo- 
critically submitted  in  form  while  at  heart  they 
were  as  thoroughly  Romish  as  ever. 

The  truth  is,  as  has  been  well  stated,  that  the 
forms  of  the  English  Establishment  ^'originated 
with  royal  pleasure;  they  have  changed  as  the 
will  of  our  princes  have  changed ;  they  have  been 


THE  CHURCH.  109 

settled  bv  acts  of  Parliament ;  formed  Illeo^allv  : 
corrupted  by  pensions  and  overawed  by  preroga- 
tive; and  they  constitute  part  of  the  statute  law 
of  the  land." 

Leaving  out,  then,  the  English  Establishment, 
all  the  churches  of  the  Reformation  were  essen- 
tially Presbyterian  in  their  principles  and  form. 

As  to  *'  the  mother  of  the  Reformed'^  churches 
at  Geneva,  Mosheim  writes :  Calvin  "  introduced 
into  the  republic  of  Geneva,  and  endeavoured  to 
introduce  into  all  the  Reformed  churches  throuo^h- 
out  Europe,  that  form  of  ecclesiastical  government 
which  is  called  presbyterian,  from  its  neither  ad- 
mitting the  institution  of  bishops  nor  of  any  sub- 
ordination among  the  clergy.  He  established  at 
Geneva  a  consistory  composed  of  ruling  elders, 
partly  pastors  and  partly  laymen,  and  invested 
this  ecclesiastical  body  wath  a  high  degree  of  au- 
thority. He  also  convened  synods,  composed  of 
the  ruling  elders  of  different  churches,  and  in 
these  had  laws  enacted  for  the  regulation  of  all 
matters  of  a  religious  nature." 

How  thoroughly  Presbyterian  w^as  the  Church 
of  Scotland,  shaped  under  its  great  leader,  Knox, 
is  known  to  all.  And  the  Church  of  Scotland 
was  identical  in  principles  and  form  with  that  of 


no  JEXNY  GEDDES. 

Protestant  France;  '^and  no  authority/'  writes 
Dr.  Hodge,  "  is  more  frequently  quoted  by  Scotch 
writers  than  the  Ratio  DisciplincE  of  the  French 
churches/' 

The  French  provincial  synods  were  obliged  to 
furnish  their  deputies  to  the  national  synod  with 
a  commission  in  these  terms :  "  We  promise,  be- 
fore God,  to  submit  ourselves  unto  all  that  shall 
be  concluded  and  determined  in  your  holy  assem- 
bly ;  to  obey  and  execute  it  to  the  utmost  of  our 
power,  being  persuaded  that  God  will  preside 
among  you  and  lead  you  by  his  Holy  Spirit  into 
all  truth  and  equity  by  the  rule  of  his  word/' 

Between  the  French  churches  and  those  of 
Holland  there  was  the  fullest  accord  both  in  doc- 
trine and  discipline. 

The  bishops  in  Denmark  and  Sweden  constitute 
but  ''a  slight  deviation  from  the  general  uni- 
formity of  the  Reformed  churches  as  a  whole," 
for  they  derived  their  ordination  from  Luther 
and  his  fellow-presbyters,  and  thus  "resembled 
very  much  the  present  bishops  of  the  Methodist 
Church,  who  derive  their  authority  from  John 
Wesley  and  two  other  presbyters,  through  Dr. 
Coke,  whom  Wesley  and  his  associates  appointed 
a  bishop.     The  superintendents  of  other  Lutheran 


THE   CHURCH.  Ill 

churches  are  not  regarded  as  holding  a  distinct, 
liigher  office,  superior  to  that  of  presbyters,  and 
investing  them  simply  as  holding  that  office  with 
jurisdiction  over  ordinary  pastors,  but  merely  as 
presbyters  raised  by  the  common  consent  of  their 
brethren  to  a  certain  very  limited  control  for  the 
sake  of  order.  The  doctrine  of  Presbytery  as  op- 
posed to  Prelacy  was  not  only  held  by  Luther 
and  his  associates,  but  was  distinctly  declared  in 
the  articles  of  Smalcald,  which  is  one  of  the  sym- 
bolical books  of  the  Lutheran  Church.  There  it 
is  set  forth  that  all  the  functions  of  church  gov- 
ernment belong  equally  of  right  to  all  who  pre- 
side over  churches,  whether  called  pastors,  pres- 
byters or  bishops'^  [Dr.  Cunningham). 

Thus,  at  the  Reformation,  the  Church,  by  al- 
most unanimous  consent,  flew  back,  as  a  child 
from  the  wilderness,  to  Its  mother's  bosom — to 
primitive  New  Testament  Presbyterianlsm. 

11.  Let  us  now  add  that  Presbyter ianism  is 
essentially  a  system  of  representative  republicanism. 
This  is  a  matter  of  some  considerable  practical 
importance,  for  sacred  and  secular  governments 
powerfully  influence  each  other. 

"  Every  religion,''  writes  De  Tocqueville,  "  is 
to  be  found  in  juxtaposition  to  a  political  opinion 


112  JEXyY  GEDDES. 

which  is  connected  with  it  by  affinity.  If  the 
luiman  mind  be  left  to  follow  its  bent,  it  will 
regulate  the  temporal  and  spiritual  institutions 
of  society  upon  one  principle." 

Dr.  McCrie,  as  quoted  by  Dr.  Smythe,  also 
writes :  "  Who  that  has  duly  reflected  on  the  sub- 
ject can  be  ignorant  that  forms  of  government 
exert  a  mighty  influence,  both  directly  and  indi- 
rectly, upon  the  habits  and  sentiments  of  tlie 
people — to  preserve  the  spirit  and  perpetuate  the 
enjoyment  of  liberty,  promote  education,  virtue 
and  religion  V^ 

Hallam  says  that  "  it  was  imputed  to  the  Puri- 
tan faction,  with  more  or  less  of  truth,  that  not 
content  with  the  subversion  of  Episcopacy,  and  of 
the  whole  ecclesiastical  polity  established  in  the 
kingdom,  they  maintained  principles  that  would 
essentially  affect  civil  institutions.  They  claimed 
to  their  ecclesiastical  assemblies  the  right  of  de- 
terminino;  'all  matters  wherein  breach  of  charity 
may  be,  and  all  matters  of  doctrine  and  manners, 
so  far  as  appertaineth  to  the  conscience.'  They 
took  away  the  temporal  right  of  patronage  to 
churches,  leaving  the  clioice  of  ministers  to  general 
suffrage^ 

Thus  governments,  sacred  and  secular,  directly 


THE  CHURCH.  113 

anrl  powerfully  influence  each  other,  and,  other 
things  being  equal,  that  Church  possesses  at  least 
one  decided  advantage  over  all  others  whose  prin- 
ciples of  government  are  most  in  harmony  with 
those  of  the  nation. 

A  spiritual  monarchy  or  aristocracy  might  exist 
and  flourish  in  a  republic;  and  a  spiritual  republic 
may  hold  its  own  and  even  reach  high  efficiency 
in  a  monarchy.  But  it  is  evident  at  a  glance — 
and  history  abundantly  proves  that — in  either  case 
collisions  are  often  inevitable,  and  such  harmony 
as  is  needed  for  complete  prosperity  impossible. 

Such,  indeed,  is  the  influence  of  governmental 
principles  and  forms  upon  citizen  or  subject  that 
he  cannot  escape  modifications  of  even  his  modes 
of  thought — modifications  sure  to  find  expression 
in  his  actions.  Under  regal  governments  the  com- 
mon enterprises  of  industrial  and  commercial  life 
are  apt  to  be  conducted  in  a  monarchical  style, 
and  under  a  free  republic  these  shape  themselves 
into  republican  forms.  In  Great  Britain,  aristoc- 
racy forces  itself  into  the  whole  being  of  social 
life;  while  in  the  United  States,  not  only  the  most 
important  but  the  most  trivial  matters  are  con- 
ducted by  means  of  republican  machinery  and 
devices — elections,  constitutions  and  by-laws.     So 


114  JENNY  GEDDES. 

powerful  is  this  influence  that  in  our  country  all 
denominations  of  Christians,  whetlier  thoroughly 
democratic  or  highly  aristocratic  in  their  essential 
principles,  are  constrained  to  adopt  devices  to 
bring  themselves  more  or  less  into  harmony  with 
representative  republicanism.  Independents  have 
their  councils,  which  are  in  some  degree  repre- 
sentative bodies,  and  in  some  instances  these  coun- 
cils are  becoming  so  large  and  unwieldy  that 
many  of  the  wiser  minds  among  them  are  sigh- 
ing for  a  reduction  of  the  size  of  these  bodies  by 
the  formal  adoption  of  the  principle  of  delegation. 
The  Episcopal  Church,  yielding  to  this  influence, 
has  been  constrained  to  admit  the  laity  to  a  place 
in  their  governing  councils ;  and  for  the  adoption 
of  this  principle  among  our  Episcopal  Methodist 
brethren  the  cry  has  long  been  growing  louder 
and  louder,  and  the  pressure  of  public  opinion  in 
that  direction  heavier  and  heavier.  If,  then,  it 
be  found  that  Presbyterianism  is  by  nature  and 
divine  law  in  thorough  harmony  with  the  uni- 
versally accepted  principles  of  civil  government 
among  us,  it  gains  thereby  a  prestige  of  no  little 
practical  value;  and  a  way  is  opened  for  its  high 
enthronement  in  the  thinking  republican  mind  of 
the   nation.     And    that  Presbyterianism    is   truly 


THE  CHURCH.  115 

representative   republican   in   its   principles^   spirit 
and  form,  few  will  venture  to  deny. 

1.  A  fundamental  doctrine  of  the  republican 
system  declares  that  the  body  of  the  people  a?-e, 
under  God,  the  source  and  fountain  of  all  the  powers 
exercised  in  the  government  of  the  State.  Man,  by 
nature  invested  with  ^^  dominion  over  the  crea- 
tures," is,  however,  invested  by  nature  with  no 
civil  dominion  over  his  brother  sovereign.  Gov- 
ernment among  men  is  replete  with  a  high  dignity 
and  majesty,  its  authority  extending  to  the  prop- 
erty, the  person,  and  even  the  life  of  the  citizen, 
and  in  exercising  the  functions  of  the  magistracy 
man  is  invested  with  a  godlike  sovereignty.  As 
such,  he  is  a  scrutinizing  eye,  overseeing  the  con- 
duct, searching  out  even  the  motives  of  men ;  and 
as  judge  also  he  gives  verdict  for  or  against  them, 
and,  in  the  latter  case,  as  executioner,  he  inflicts 
censure  and  penalty.  Summoning  men  to  his  bar, 
he  separateth  them  one  from  another — setting  the 
sheep  at  his  right  hand  and  the  goats  at  his  left — • 
and  crowns  the  one  class  with  benediction  and 
scourges  the  other  with  condemnation.  He  is 
God's  minister,  sent  for  *' the  punishment  of 
evil-doers  and  for  the  praise  of  them  that  do 
well.'' 


116  JENNY  GEDDES. 

And  the  earthlj  source  of  these  high  preroga- 
tives is  the  mass  of  the  citizenship. 

That  this  is  true  of  the  Presbyterian  system  has 
already  been  shown.  It  maintains  that  God  has 
given  into  the  hands  of  the  Church  as  a  body  the 
whole  magistracy  that  is  to  govern  in  his  name, 
and  all  ecclesiastical  power  is  exercised  under  God 
in  the  name  of  the  Christian  brotherhood,  who  are 
kings  as  well  as  priests  unto  God.  It  utterly  dis- 
allows the  doctrine  that  ecclesiastical  authority  is 
given  primarily  to  the  clergy — that  these  constitute 
a  ruling  order  set  between  God  and  men,  authori- 
tatively to  interpret  for  them  the  A7ord  of  God, 
and  for  them  to  say  what  form  of  church  govern- 
ment shall  prevail  over  them  and  what  law  shall 
bind  and  guide  them. 

And  while  maintaining  this  doctrine  with  refer- 
ence to  the  brotherhood  within,  it  is  even  more 
emphatic  in  its  repudiation  of  all  right  to  govern- 
mental interference  from  the  State  without.  If 
the  clergy  may  not  lord  it,  of  intrinsic  right,  over 
one  another  or  over  the  people,  neither  may  any 
external  authorities  lord  it  over  either  laity  or 
clergy.  If  there  is  one  principle  that  stands  out 
in  pre-eminent  relief  in  the  conduct  of  Presbyte- 
rianism  in  Scotland,  it  is  that  of  the  inherent  right 


THE  CHURCH.  117 

of  the  Church  to  govern  itself  without  let,  hin- 
drance or  interference  from  the  State.  In  the 
long  and  bloody  war  with  the  State  under  the 
Stuarts,  while  English  Prelacy  courted,  Presbyte- 
rianism  denounced  and  repudiated  all  State  dicta- 
tion and  control.  It  w^ould  allow  neither  king  nor 
parliament  either  to  give  it  laws  or  even  to  con- 
voke the  General  Assembly,  or  even,  when  it  could 
help  it,  to  determine  the  time,  place  or  frequency 
of  its  meetings,  much  less  to  have  one  word  to  say 
as  to  the  constituency  of  the  assembly.  Again  and 
again  it  repudiated  assemblies  which  had  been 
controlled  and  corrupted  by  State  agency  and  in- 
fluence, and  pronounced  all  their  acts  null  and 
void.  It  told  the  king  to  his  face  that  he  was 
neither  monarch  over  nor  ruler  in,  but  only  a 
member  and  subject  of,  the  Church.  It  scouted 
the  fancy  of  James,  as  expressed  in  his  *^  Basilicon 
Doron"  and  "  Free  Law  of  Free  Monarchy,"  that 
one  chief  function  of  secular  royalty  was  to  govern 
the  Church. 

In  our  own  country  it  was  Presbyterianism 
chiefly  that  compelled  the  State  to  leave  the 
Church  in  its  native  independence.  "Presbyte- 
rianism first  proclaimed  this  doctrine  on  American 
shores.     It  was  op])osed  by  Episcopacy  in  efforts  to 


118  JENNY  GEDDES. 

establish  this  doctrine  in  Virginia.  And  its  uni- 
versal establishment  in  our  country  and  in  the 
Constitution  was  the  result  of  the  movement  made 
by  Presbyterians"  (Smythe), 

The  subject  of  Church  and  State  alliance  was 
long  under  discussion  before  the  Virginia  Assem- 
bly, and  the  measure  was  first  long  delayed,  and 
then  finally  defeated,  by  the  persistent  oi)position 
of  Presbyterians,  in  which  the  Baptists  also  lent 
efficient  aid,  through  memorials,  protests  and  pro- 
tracted and  able  discussions.  And  the  happy 
working  of  the  free-church  system  in  that  then 
powerful  and  influential  commonwealth  secured 
its  general  adoption  in  the  nation.  Thus  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church  the  doctrine  is  fundamental 
that  the  powers  of  government  inhere  in  the  body 
of  the  people,  to  the  exclusion  alike  of  State  dicta- 
tion and  interference,  and  of  individual  or  class 
prescription. 

2.  But  if  these  rights  belong  to  the  people,  it  is 
for  them  to  say  under  what  particular  form  they  are 
to  he  exercised. 

For  Presbyterianism  necessarily  involves  govern- 
mental machinery — a  constitutional  framework — 
as  the  medium  through  which  the  prescribing 
forces  shall  reach  the  subject  masses.     It  knows 


THE  CHURCH.  119 

nothing  either  of  autocracy  on  tlie  one  hand  or 
democracy  on  the  other — nothing  of  mere  arbitrary 
will.  Presbj^terianism  is  neither  a  one-headed  nor 
a  many-headed  despot.  It  is  in  its  very  nature  a 
constitutional  government,  and  it  is  for  the  native 
posseasoi^  of  all  governmental  authority,  the  body 
of  the  people,  to  say  what  particular  form  the  con- 
stitution shall  assume. 

In  the  civil  republic,  God,  speaking  through 
the  people,  their  social  nature  and  necessities,  their 
reason,  judgment  and  sense  of  right  and  wrong, 
ordains  the  constitutional  medium — all  the  needful 
framework  and  machinery  of  government.  Like- 
wise in  Presbyterianism,  God,  through  the  apostles, 
laid  down  a  certain  definite  governmental  system, 
ordained  certain  offices  to  be  filled,  specified  the 
qualifications  of  official  incumbents,  gave  these 
incumbents  their  proper  titles,  prescribed  the 
modes  of  their  designation  for  and  induction  into 
office,  and  the  powers  to  be  exercised  by  them. 
But  while  it  recognizes  the  fact  that  all  this  lies 
in  the  Word  of  God,  in  the  inspired  records  of 
early  Church  history,  it  disallows  the  right  of 
either  the  State  or  the  clergy  as  such,  or  any 
other  persons  or  bodies  of  men,  authoritatively  to 
interpret  these  oracles  for  the  people.     They  alone 


120  JEXXY  GEDDES. 

are  they  who,  with  such  b'ght  as  may  be  given 
them,  are  to  settle  this  question  under  God,  and 
responsible  alone  to  him  for  the  wisdom  and 
righteousness  of  their  decisions.  If  the  people 
tested  the  oral  teachings  of  the  apostles  and  re- 
sorted daily  to  the  Scriptures  to  see  whether  these 
things  were  so,  as  we  see  In  Acts  xvli.  11,  If  even 
the  utterance  of  an  angel  from  heaven  were  to  be 
subject  to  a  similar  test  on  the  part  of  the  people, 
as  we  see  in  Gal.  I.  8,  so  also  are  the  records  of 
apostolic  teachings  upon  this  great  subject  of 
church  government  to  come  to  the  same  test,  and 
to  be  interpreted  by  the  common  Christian  con- 
science and  reason  under  the  illuminating  influ- 
ences of  the  indwelling  Spirit  of  God.  Thus  in 
all  genuine  reformations  the  believing  people  are 
summoned  forth  to  utter  their  voice.  King  Heze  - 
kiah  ventured  but  a  short  way  In  his  work  as  a 
reformer  without  consultation  with  the  princes  and 
the  congregation ;  and  when  it  was  proposed  to 
repeat  the  passover  and  hold  it  yet  other  seven 
days,  the  approval  of  the  whole  assembly  of  the 
people  was  sought  and  obtained  (2  Chron.  xxx. 
2-23).  And  on  the  Continent  and  in  Scotland_,  in 
later  days.  It  was  the  voice  and  power  of  the  re- 
formed and  reforming  people  that  toppled  over  the 


THE  CHURCH.  121 

bulwarks  of  the  Papacy  and  brought  deliverance 
to  the  world;  while  in  England  alone  the  govern- 
ment took  the  work  into  its  own  hands,  and  w^ith 
w^hat  result  none  are  ignorant.  There,  as  a  zealous 
advocate  of  Anglican  ecclesiasticism  writes,  "  The 
people  never  were  consulted  in  the  matter;  no 
popular  assembly  w^as  held;  nothing  was  put  to 
vote.  Their  consent  was  never  asked ;  in  all  pro- 
bability it  would  not  have  been  given,  for  the  great, 
bulk  of  the  people  were  too  ignorant  to  understand 
it  and  naturally  disinclined  to  change  their  opin- 
ions. So  also  in  the  catechism,  the  Church 
teaches  her  children  to  obey  their  spiritual  pastors 
and  masters'^  [F,  W.  Faher,  quoted  by  Smythe). 

But  Presbyterianism  asserts  the  right  and  duty 
of  the  people  to  determine,  among  other  things, 
the  constitutional  system  under  and  through  which 
the  ecclesiastical  jiowers  shall  go  forth  from  their 
appointed  possessors  upon  the  subjects  of  govern- 
ment. 

'  True,  as  has  been  already  said,  the  fundamental 
principles  of  church  government  are  laid  down 
in  the  word  of  God,  and  any  deviation  from  these 
involves  error  and  entails  evil.  But  no  less  are 
the  foundation-principles  of  civil  government  set 
forth   in  the  same  inspired  record,  and   only  by 


122  JENNY  GEDDES. 

adherence  to  these  can  civilization  and  social  hap- 
piness be  fully  realized.  But  in  both  the  one  case 
and  the  other  these  principles  are  to  be  ascertained 
by,  and  brought  into  action  through,  the  sanction 
of  the  aggregate  civil  or  ecclesiastical  citizenship — 
responsible  in  this  only  to  their  God.  If  they  err, 
the  sin  and  folly  is  theirs,  and  there  is  no  au- 
thority on  earth  to  constrain  them  to  amend  their 
conclusions  and  conduct. 

In  either  case,  also,  this  power  to  frame  consti- 
tutions is  hedged  about  with  limitations  which 
may  not  safely  be  passed.  Human  constitutions 
for  the  government  of  men  are  merely  the  media 
through  which  divinely-given  principles  go  into 
action,  and  whenever  they  obstruct  the  free  opera- 
tion of  these  principles  they  are  abnormal  and 
illegitimate,  and  bring  human  wills  into  collision 
with  the  divine.  Presbyteries,  larger  or  smaller, 
possess  certain  inherent  rights  and  powers,  derived 
neither  from  courts  superior  nor  courts  inferior, 
but  only  through  the  people  from  the  great  Head ; 
and  no  constitution  of  human  devising  may  thwart 
their  action  or  set  them  aside.  Within  certain 
limits  man  may  ordain  rules  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  family — children  may  be  coerced 
to  a  course  of  education — parents   may  be  pun- 


THE  CHURCH.  123 

ishecl  for  cruelty  to  children — but  an  edict  from 
the  legislature  subjecting  parents  to  the  dominion 
of  their  children  would  be  in  itself  null  and  void, 
as  conflicting  with  fundamental  laws  of  divine 
ordination.  And  when  any  jirovision  in  the  con- 
stitution of  any  Church  conflicts  with  the  laws 
laid  down  by  the  great  King  for  the  government 
of  the  Church,  with  the  essential  rights  and  duties 
of  the  presbytery,  larger  or  smaller,  such  pro- 
vision is  a  usurpation,  a  folly  and  a  crime,  and 
no  one  is  bound  to  its  outcarrying.  But  within 
the  divinely-prescribed  limits  of  legitimate  human 
enactment,  the  people  alone  as  such,  without  leave 
asked  of  the  State  without  or  Church  dignitaries 
and  authorities  within,  are  to  say  what  particular 
shape  church  government  shall  assume.  And  this 
doctrine  is  an  essential  element  in  the  presby- 
terial  system. 

3.  Since,  then,  the  governing  authority  resides 
with  the  people,  and  they,  under  God  and  guided 
by  his  law,  are  to  declare  what  particular  offices 
are  to  exist,  it  follows  that  only  by  their  voice 
can  any  incumbent  find  his  ivay  into  official 
position. 

It  is  so  in  civil,  it  is  so  in  ecclesiastical  govern- 
ments.    In  either,  birth-right  dominion  over  men 


124  JENNY  GEDBES. 

is  a  solecism  and  an  absurdity,  excepting  only  in 
case  of  clear,  express  appointment  of  God,  which 
appointment  within  the  Church  is  claimed  by 
none,  and  witliin  the  State  is  now  claimed  only 
to  be  scornfully  disallowed  by  the  enlightened 
common  sense  of  mankind.  No  man  or  woman 
is  born  with  the  divine  right  to  fill  any  office  of 
civil  or  ecclesiastical  government  without  the  con- 
sent of  the  governed.  Each  Christian  congrega- 
tion is  composed  of  "kings  unto  God,"  and  no 
human  authority  exists,  out  of  its  own  bosom,  to 
assign  to  it  an  officer  of  any  grade  or  character 
without  its  own  call  and  choice.  If  a  man  is  to 
fill  the  office  of  deacon,  to  "serve  tables,"  to  dis- 
pense the  charities  of  the  Church  to  the  needy 
saints,  the  voice  of  the  Spirit  says  to  the  people, 
"  Look  ye  out  among  you  men  of  honest  report, 
full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  wisdom,"  to  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  laying  on  of  hands  and  with  prayer, 
"over  this  business."  The  people  must  choose 
the  candidate  (Acts  vi.  5).  If  one  is  to  fill  the 
office  of  ruling-elder,  he  must,  by  his  obvious  fit- 
ness for  the  position,  attract  the  attention  of  his 
coequal  brethren,  and  be  chosen  thereto  by  their 
suffrages  in  public  assembly.  And  only  after  such 
election   can    he    be   ordained   and    installed   into 


THE  CHURCH.  125 

office.  And  if  one  is  to  fill  the  pastorate  of  a 
particular  church,  the  laws  of  Presbyterianlsni 
demand  that  he  be  first  elected  thereto  by  the  free 
choice  of  those  whom  he  is  to  feed  and  help  in 
governing.  The  assignment  of  a  pastor  to  a  con- 
gregation by  any  authority  outside  of  its  family 
circle,  either  in  opposition  to  their  wishes  or  with- 
out their  formal  consent,  is  an  act  of  usurpation. 
Loudly  and  often  has  the  oppressed  Church  of 
Scotland  complained  and  protested  against  the 
tyrannies  of  the  patronage  system,  which  is  wont 
to  assert  its  right,  and  too  frequently  with  success, 
to  intrude  its  creatures  into  the  pulpit  against 
the  will  of  the  pews.  And  the  assignment  by  a 
conference  or  a  bishop,  or  any  other  person  or 
body  of  men,  of  an  incumbent  to  the  pastoral 
office — the  people  to  whom  he  is  to  minister  not 
having  fixed  upon  him  as  the  pastor  of  its 
free  choice — is  unscriptural,  unrepublican  and  un- 
presbyterian ;  and  a  people  that  submits  to  such 
a  system  is,  in  so  far  forth,  an  unrepublican  com- 
munity. In  so  doing  they  yield  up  one  of  the 
fundamental  and  most  sacred  rights  of  God's  heri- 
tage, and  giv^e  over  to  others  the  discharge  of  one 
of  their  most  important  and  sacred  duties.  The 
free   choice   by  the   people  of  those   who   are  to 


126  JEXXY  GEDDES. 

rule  them  is,  then,  another  of  the  fundamental 
principles  of  the  Presbyterian  republic. 

4.  Another  principle  of  republicanism,  ecclesias- 
tical and  secular,  demands  that  citizens  from  the  va- 
rious ranks  of  society  shall  actually  bear  rule  in  the 
government.  Tlie  citizenship  in  the  State  embraces 
a  vast  variety  of  interests — industrial,  commercial 
and  professional — and  in  the  Church,  with  the  pas- 
torate and  eldership,  all  classes  and  conditions  of 
people;  and  to  secure  impartiality  in  making  and 
executing  laws,  these  various  elements  must  have 
place  as  far  as  possible  in  the  governing  bodies. 
Only  in  a  legislature  thus  constituted  is  there  any 
reasonable  security  against  the  iniquities  and  dis- 
asters of  class-legislation,  security  for  a  harmo- 
nizing of,  or  at  least  a  satisfactory  compromise 
between,  the  countless  and  often  conflicting  interests 
of  the  civil  or  ecclesiastical  family.  In  a  free  re- 
publican legislature  we  find  the  farmer,  the  artist, 
the  mechanic,  the  merchant,  the  physician,  the 
banker,  the  lawyer,  and  members  of  whatever  avo- 
cation that  forms  a  controlling  interest  in  the 
community. 

This  principle  of  republicanism  is  repudiated  by 
any  system  that  allows  an  autocracy  or  aristocracy 
to  prevail  in  its  scheme  of  church  government.     In 


THE  CHURCH.  127 

whatever  church  the  pastor  rules  the  congregation, 
or  one  body  of  clergy  of  itself  rules  either  the  con- 
gregation or  any  other  body  of  the  clergy,  other 
principles  prevail  than  those  of  republicanism  And 
as  the  people  become  enlightened,  and  come  to  see 
on  the  one  hand  their  own  rights,  and  on  the  other 
the  evils  which  such  a  system  is  almost  sure  to 
entail,  they  will  challenge  their  right  to  a  personal 
share  in  the  functions  of  government;  and  as 
germs  imbedded  in  the  Christian  heart  are  sure  to 
find  way  for  ultimate  development,  so  the  people 
are  predestinated  to  attain  in  all  Christian  churches 
an  actual  share  in  the  governmental  adminis- 
tration. 

The  growth  of  a  gaudy,  pompous  ritualism  in 
the  Church  of  England  is  fast  opening  the  eyes  of 
the  wise  to  the  evils  of  the  unrepublican  exclusion 
of  the  laity  from  actual  power.  A  vigorous  writer 
in  a  late  number  of  the  London  Review  says  of 
this  ritualistic  question :  "  We  view  it  as  a  warfare 
that  must  seriously  affect  the  welfare  of  the  land. 
It  is  not  a  question  between  Geneva  and  Rome, 
but  whether  the  laity  of  the  United  Kingdom  are 
to  submit  to  the  tyranny  of  priest-craft,  to  surren- 
der to  the  clergyman  of  each  parish  the  power  to 
dictate   to  them  what  they  are  to  believe,  and  to 


128  JENNY   GEDDES. 

-svliat  they  are  to  conform  in  the  ceremonial  of  their 
public  and  private  acts  of  devotion.  In  the  claims 
of  this  ritualistic  party  we  recognize  deliberate  and 
very  powerful  efforts  to  subject  the  thought  of  the 
day,  the  free  religious  liberty  of  the  laymen,  to  the 
dictation  of  a  body  of  men  in  whom  there  is  to  be 
found  none  of  the  antecedents  of  a  life  which  could 
prove  them  trained  for  the  use  of  such  despotic 
spiritual  power,  nor  anything  in  the  act  of  their 
ordination,  in  their  aj)pointment  to  their  respective 
spheres  of  duty,  which  for  one  moment  would 
justify  their  parishioners  in  becoming  thus  subject 
to  them." 

Loud  complaints  are  heard  of  that  "autocracy  of 
incumbents  of  parishes  which  makes  each  to  reign 
with  no  rival  near  his  throne — a  total  abnegation 
of  the  laity  of  the  Church  of  England,  comprising 
a  large  portion  of  the  higher  middle  class,  as  well 
as  the  great  majority  of  the  gentry  and  nobility, 
and  subjecting  them  to  the  will  of  rector  or  vicar.'' 

Even  the  Loyidon  Times  talks  of  the  necessity 
of  taking  a  "  leaf  from  Presbyterianism.''  Lord 
Sandon,  addressing  a  recent  "  High  Church  Con- 
gress,'' speaking  of  the  ^'  priestly  feeling"  that  is 
nurtured  by  this  autocracy  in  the  rule  over  a  con- 
gregation, says  that  it  leads  to  the  establishment 


THE  CHURCH.  129 

"  of  another  master  in  every  household,  and  ends 
in  raising  up  a  human  artificial  barrier  between 
man  and  his  God.'' 

Among  our  Methodist  brethren,  whose  zeal, 
piety  and  success  are  the  admiration  of  all,  this 
question  of  lay  participation  in  the  government  of 
the  Church  lias  been  for  a  long  time  producing 
profound  agitation,  and  it  is  a  question  which 
must  ultimately  be  decided  in  favour  of  the  laity, 
and  until  then  their  form  of  government  remains, 
in  this  respect  at  least,  unrepublican. 

Presbyterianism,  however,  finds  this  among  its 
elementary  principles.  It  disallows  the  right  of 
any  one  man  or  any  one  class  to  govern  alone 
any  one  body  of  the  spiritual  citizenship.  No 
one  pastor  may  govern  alone  any  one  congrega- 
tion. Each  particular  governing  body,  whether 
it  be  the  session  or  presbytery,  or  synod,  or  Gene- 
ral Assembly,  embosoms  a  body  of  the  laity  with 
the  clergy.  In  them,  too,  may  be  found  the  va- 
rious elements  of  society  represented.  There  you 
shall  see  the  mechanic  side  by  side  with  the  rever- 
end professor  in  the  theological  seminary,  the  mer- 
chant sitting  with  his  pastor.  In  most  of  these 
bodies  the  laity  actually  are,  and  in  all  of  them 
they  may  be,  in  considerable  majority.    The  session 


130  JENNY  GEDDES. 

should  always  comprise  a  plurality  of  ruling  elders, 
and  in  most  cases  includes  three  or  six  or  even 
twelve.  In  presbyteries  and  synods  they  are  very 
likely  to  be  in  majority.  It  is  not  unfrequently 
the  case  that  one  pastor  acts  as  "stated  supply''  to 
two,  three,  or  even  four  several  organized  churches, 
and  while  all  those  churches  are  represented  in 
presbytery  by  a  single  pastor,  they  each  send  a 
ruling  elder.  The  same  is  true  of  the  General 
Assembly.  The  first  General  Assembly  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland,  numbering  forty  members, 
contained  but  six  ministers.  Thus  presbyterial 
governing  bodies  embrace  all  that  variety  of  view 
and  interest  that  characterizes  the  subject  society 
for  which  it  legislates.  In  Presbyterianism,  there- 
fore, there  is  no  such  thing  as  either  an  individual 
or  a  body  of  Christians  under  exclusive  clerical 
control. 

And  as  these  ruling  bodies  are  invested  also 
with  a  judicial  character,  having  authority  to  re- 
ceive accusations  or  appeals,  and  to  try  and  dis- 
cipline offenders,  our  judiciary  is  both  elective  and 
popularly  constituted,  and  a  defendant  before  one 
of  these  courts  is  sure  to  find  among  his  judges 
some  of  his  brethren  in  social  rank.  If  condemned 
by  the  session,  he  may  appeal  to  presbytery,  and  if 


THE  CHURCH.  131 

dissatisfied  with  the  decision  here,  he  may  appeal 
to  synod ;  and  if  still  dissatisfied  his,  appeal  lies 
once  more  to  the  General  Assembly.  Thus  the 
humblest  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  is 
secured  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  rights  and  shielded 
from  injury  and  oppression  by  the  guardianship  of 
the  whole  Church. 

It  thus  appears  that  under  our  system  the  people 
shape  the  constitution  of  their  spiritual  common- 
wealth, elect  their  legislative  and  judicial  officers, 
and  form  a  constituent  element  in  their  governing 
assemblies.     This  surely  is  sufficiently  republican. 

5.  The  perfect  equality  in  rank  and  authority 
among  the  rulers  in  the  spiritual  commonwealth  is 
another  feature  of  Presbyterian  republicanism. 

For  the  civil  republic  no  inspired  system  of 
government  is  laid  down,  and  hence  it  remains 
with  the  people  to  say  what  offices  shall  exist  and 
what  powers  shall  inhere  in  these  and  those ;  but 
the  records  of  the  Church,  to  which  the  people  are 
bound  to  adhere  in  setting  up  the  machinery  of 
spiritual  government,  allow  but  one  single  office — 
namely,  the  eldership — and  no  authority  exists  on 
earth  for  the  creation  of  any  other;  and  all  the 
incumbents  in  that  office  are  as  rulers  on  a  level  of 
entire  equality. 


132  JENJ^Y  GEDDES. 

Parity  among  the  clergy,  as  such,  is  a  prime 
article  of  the  Presbyterian  system.  By  whatever 
name  a  minister  of  the  gospel  may  be  called,  he  is 
simply  and  only  an  elder.  His  character  may  out- 
shine that  of  many,  his  talents  may  exalt  him  to 
princely  dominion  in  the  world  of  thought,  in  elo- 
quence he  may  be  an  Apollos,  in  logic  a  Paul,  and 
in  erudition  he  may  surpass  all  his  brethren,  but 
withal  he  is  an  elder,  and  nothing  more.  Exalted 
service  may  be  assigned  to  him,  he  may  fill  the 
office  of  spiritual  superintendent  over  a  large  terri- 
torial district,  or  that  of  moderator  in  a  larger  or 
smaller  presbytery,  or  that  of  preceptor  in  a  theo- 
logical chair,  yet  his  sole  scriptural  title  is  that  of 
presbyter  or  elder,  and  his  only  rank  that  of  the 
eldership,  in  which  he  is  the  equal  of  any  other  in 
all  the  clerical  brotherhood. 

Besides  this,  as  members  of  governing  assem- 
blies the  ruling  elders  are  the  coequals  of  those 
who  preach  and  administer  the  sacraments  as  well 
as  rule.  In  discussing,  in  voting  and  in  eligibility 
to  office  in  these  bodies,  each  ruling  elder  is  the  full 
equal  of  any  other  member. 

Dr.  Charles  Hodge,  in  his  tract  upon  the  ques- 
tion "  What  is  Presbyterianism  ?"  writes  :  '^  As  to 
matters  of  doctrine  and  the  great  office  of  teaching, 


THE  CHURCH,  133 

they" — the  ruling  elders — ^-have  an  equal  voice 
with  the  clergy  in  the  formation  and  adoption  of 
all  symbols  of  faith.  It  is  not  competent  for  the 
clergy  to  frame  and  authoritatively  to  set  forth  a 
creed  to  be  embraced  by  the  Church,  and  to  be 
made  a  condition  of  either  ministerial  or  Christian 
communion,  without  the  consent  of  the  people. 
Such  creeds  profess  to  express  the  mind  of  the 
Church.  But  the  ministry  are  not  the  Church. 
So,  too,  in  the  election  of  preachers  of  the  Word, 
in  judging  of  their  fitness  for  the  sacred  office,  in 
deciding  whether  they  shall  be  ordained,  in  judging 
them  when  arraigned  for  heresy,  the  people  '  have 
in  fact  an  equal  vote  with  the  clergy.' 

"  The  same  is  true  as  to  the  jus  liturgieum,  as  it 
is  called,  of  the  Church.  The  ministry  cannot 
frame  a  ritual,  or  liturgy,  or  directory  for  public 
worship,  and  enjoin  its  use  on  the  people  to  whom 
they  preach.  And  in  the  exercise  of  the  power  of 
the  keys,  in  opening  and  shutting  the  door  of 
communion  with  the  Church,  the  people" — through 
their  elders — "  have  a  decisive  voice." 

Indeed,  in  all  the  acts  of  each  governing  assem- 
bly the  ruling  elders  are  in  every  sense  the  co- 
equals  of  their  brethren  in  the  ministry. 

And  it  merits  consideration  whether  our  common 


134  JEXXY  GEDDES. 

practice,  as  frequently  and  fully  as  it  ought,  illus- 
trates and  verifies  this  poi'tion  of  our  Presbyterian 
theory.  It  too  rarely  occurs  in  our  ecclesiastical 
assemblies  that  a  ruling  elder  is  chosen  to  act  even 
in  a  clerkship,  and  almost  never  to  occupy  the 
moderator's  chair,  although  not  unfrequently  there 
are  sitting  in  the  body  elders  endowed  with  pecu- 
liar qualifications  for  such  positions,  and  who,  by 
virtue  of  their  rank,  are  as  fully  entitled  to  them 
as  their  clerical  brethren.  A  practical  recognition 
of  the  rank,  dignities  and  rights  of  these  rulers 
would  enlarge  their  sphere  of  usefulness,  increase 
their  interest  in  the  proceedings  of  these  bodies, 
secure  a  larger  attendance  on  their  part,  and  thus 
considerably  reinforce  the  active  energy  and  talent 
of  the  Church.  Thus,  according  to  the  principles 
of  Presbyterian  ism,  our  rulers  all  stand  on  the 
same  level  of  rank,  dignity  and  power. 

6.  Again,  in  our  ecclesiastical  republic  the  voice 
of  the  majo7'lfy  is  the  voice  of  the  government. 

A  representative  body  is,  for  the  purposes  to 
which  it  is  appointed,  the  body  which  it  repre- 
sents. The  national  government  is  the  people, 
and  in  and  through  that  government  the  people 
make  and  execute  laws  and  form  treaties  with 
foreign   powers.     But  owing  to  the  necessary  di- 


THE  CHURCH.  135 

verslty  of  knowledge,  views  and  interests,  entire 
unanimity  in  most  cases  cannot  be  expected.  Even 
a  jury  of  twelve  men  rarely  come  to  such  unan- 
imity except  by  compromise ;  the  feebler  must 
yield  to  the  stronger,  and  many  of  the  convictions 
in  the  jury-box  are  given  up  in  the  jury-room. 
If,  then,  we  are  to  wait  for  entire  unanimity  in  a 
governing  assembly,  \\q  must,  in  many  instances, 
wait  for  ever;  the  wheels  of  government  must 
stop  and  anarchy  ensue.  Unless,  then,  republi- 
canism is  to  give  way  to  despotism,  the  principle 
becomes  a  necessity  that  the  majority  of  a  body 
is  the  body  itself,  and  its  voice  is  the  law.  The 
majority  of  a  session  is  the  session — of  a  presby- 
tery is  the  presbytery — and  so  on  through  the  whole 
series.  And  in  our  General  Assembly,  composed 
of  coequal  ministers  and  ruling  elders,  the  voice 
of  the  majority  is  the  law  of  the  Church.  A  note, 
already  quoted,  under  the  article  in  our  Form  of 
Government  entitled  "  The  General  Assembly," 
says:  "The  radical  principles  of  Presbyterian 
church  government  are,  *  that  a  larger  part  of  the 
Church,  or  a  representation  of  it,  should  govern 
a  smaller;  that,  in  like  manner,  a  representation 
of  the  whole  should  govern  and  determine  in 
regard  to  every  part  and  to  all  the  parts  united; 


136  JENNY  GEDDES. 

that  is,  a  majority  shall  govern.'  ''  What  is  true 
of  the  whole  is  true  of  each  several  part — the 
majority  is  the  body.  No  house  of  clergy  either 
governs  by  itself,  or  sits  apart  with  a  negative 
upon  the  doings  of  the  laity.  All  sit  together 
as  equals,  discuss  on  equal  terms,  any  member 
possessing  the  inherent  right  to  offer  any  propo- 
sition for  the  consideration  of  the  body ;  all  vote 
together,  and  the  vote  of  the  majority  is  the  de- 
cision of  the  question. 

But  while  the  majority  rules,  the  rights  of  the 
minority  are  carefully  guarded.  The  sacred  right 
of  private  judgment  is  fully  recognized,  and  each 
one  is  allowed  to  appeal  for  defence  directly  to 
the  word  of  God.  ^'  The  Supreme  Judge,'^  saith 
our  Confession  of  Faith,  "  by  whom  all  contro- 
versies of  religion  are  to  be  determined,  and  all 
decrees  of  councils,  opinions  of  ancient  writers, 
doctrines  of  men  and  private  spirits  are  to  be 
examined,  and  in  whose  sentence  we  are  to  rest, 
can  be  no  other  but  the  Holy  Ghost  speaking  in 
the  Scriptures." 

In  judicial  processes,  "Nothing  ought  to  be 
considered  by  any  judicatory  as  an  offence,  or  ad- 
mitted as  matter  of  accusation,  which  cannot  be 
proved  to   be   such  from  Scrijjture,   or   from   the 


THE  CHURCH.  137 

regulations  or  practices  of  the  Church  founded  on 
Scripture,  and  which  does  not  involve  those  evils 
which  discipline  is  intended  to  prevent." 

Thus  each  private  member  of  the  common- 
wealth, if  aggrieved  by  any  action  of  any  judica- 
tory, and  any  defendant  in  any  court,  may  fall 
back  upon  the  Holy  Word,  and  if  he  can  there 
make  good  his  case,  the  very  constitution  of  his 
Church  compels  his  rulers  and  judges  to  modify 
their  action  accordingly.  Hence  the  power  of 
ecclesiastical  officers  over  the  people  is  one  of 
reason  and  scriptural  interpretation,  and  not  of 
mere  official  authority. 

7.  Under  a  republican  form  of  government  it 
is  obvious  that  the  great  body  of  the  constituency 
are  first  and  last  in  the  thoughts  of  the  legislators. 
Legislative  enactments  are  framed  for  their  sakes 
and  go  forth  in  their  name  and  by  their  au- 
thority. The  peo2:>le  have  only  to  call  wath 
united  voice  for  the  passage  of  some  new  law 
or  the  abrogation  of  an  old  one,  and  their  voice 
is  sure  to  be  heard,  or,  if  not,  the  obstinate  ser- 
vants will  be  dismissed  and  their  places  filled 
by  others.  Under  such  a  system,  class-legisla- 
tion, which,  where  it  prevails,  tramples  upon  the 
rights  of  the  people,  destroys  their  prosperity,  and 


138  JENNY  GEDDES. 

fills  whole  provinces  with  poverty  and  misery,  is 
impossible. 

So  also  in  an  ecclesiastical  republic,  the  people 
are  the  Church,  and  are  the  body  for  whom  the 
government  is  bound  to  legislate.  The  people 
are  the  human  source  of  power,  the  framers  of 
the  government,  the  electors  to  office,  the  creators 
of  legislators ;  and  these  creatures  of  the  people 
must  act  for  the  people.  There  can  be,  therefore, 
no  legislation  for  the  clergy  as  against  the  laity, 
for  without  the  consent  of  the  laity  the  clergy 
can  make  no  law;  nor  for  the  laity  as  against 
the  clergy,  for  without  the  clergy  the  laity  can 
pass  no  enactment.  And  as  clergy  and  laity,  com- 
bined, are  the  people — the  Church — of  necessity 
the  people  are  first  and  last  in  the  minds  of  the 
government.  And  if  a  body,  like  the  General 
Assembly,  composed  of  commissioners  from  the 
presbyteries,  offend  in  a  given  instance  the  gene- 
rality of  the  Church,  the  latter  will  see  to  it  that 
other  commissioners,  whose  views  are  in  fuller 
accord  with  its  own,  shall  in  a  subsequent  as- 
sembly rectify  the  doings  of  its  predecessor.  And 
if  a  presbytery  err,  its  members,  mingling  with 
the  people,  will  be  sure  to  hear  their  rebukes  and 
remonstrances,  and  at  another  meeting  a  new  dele- 


THE  CHURCH.  139 

gation  of  elders  will  help  them  to  retrace  their 
steps  and  amend  the  offensive  enactments.  Thus, 
in  the  very  constitution  of  Presbyterianism,  the 
people  possess  all  possible  security  against  partial 
and  unjust  legislation. 

In  looking  now  over  the  Presbyterian  system 
as  a  whole,  we  find  it  to  be  made  up  of  an  ascend- 
ing series  of  lesser  and  larger  republics,  all,  how- 
ever, so  interlocked  together  as  to  constitute  one 
comprehensive  whole  —  a  true  ecclesiastical  unum 
€  plwribus.  A  single  congregation,  with  its  pastor 
and  ruling  eldership,  elected  by  and  acting  for 
and  in  the  name  of  the  people,  forms  a  distinct 
republic  —  then  the  presbytery  and  synod  and 
General  Assembly,  each  composed  of  like  ma- 
terials and  constructed  after  the  same  pattern,  an- 
other republic — the  whole  blended  into  one  by  the 
interpenetration  of  the  same  general  membership 
by  the  ascent  of  appeals  from  the  low^er  to  the 
higher,  and  on  to  the  highest ;  review  and  control 
descending  from  the  higher  to  the  lower,  and  thus 
from  the  highest  to  the  low^est;  many  members, 
warmed  with  the  common  life-blood  propelled 
through  them  by  one  heart,  moved  to  action  by 
the  common  will  acting  through  media  called 
into  existence  in  accordance  with  New  Testament 


140  JENNY  GEDDES. 

law,  by  the  united  mind  and  combined  wisdom  of 
the  whole.  In  this  scheme  there  is  a  realization 
of  the  highest  unity  in  combination  with  an  ever- 
varying  diversity — of  the  fullest  liberty  in  alliance 
with  the  most  efficient  legal  authority.  If,  there- 
fore, there  is  republicanism  in  all  its  beauty  any- 
where, it  is  found  in  scriptural  Presbyterianism. 

8.  It  remains  to  add  that  the  republicanism  of 
the  Presbyterian  system  is  recognized  by  writers 
of  every  class,  acknowledged  by  impartial  his- 
torians, claimed  as  a  glory  by  its  friends,  imputed 
as  a  crime  by  its  foes. 

Neander,  in  a  note  on  the  second  chapter  of  his 
"  Planting  and  Training,''  etc.,  writes : 

"  It  is  most  probable  that  although  all  presby- 
ters were  called  rulers  of  the  synagogue,  yet  one 
who  acted  as  president  was  distinguished  by  the 
title  of  ruler  of  the  synagogue,  as  primus  inter 
pares.  In  evidence  of  this,  compare  Luke  viii. 
41-49  with  Mark  v.  22.  This  is  important  in 
reference  to  the  later  relation  of  bishops  and  pres- 
byters. The  analogy  to  the  Jewish  synagogue 
allows  us  to  conclude  that  at  the  head  of  the 
first  Church  at  Jerusalem  a  general  deliberative 
college  was  placed  from  the  beginning — a  notion 
favoured  by  comparison  with  the  college  of  apos- 


THE  CHURCH.  141 

ties;  and  in  the  Acts  a  plurality  of  presbyters 
always  appears  next  in  rank  to  the  apostles,  as 
representatives  of  the  Church  at  Jerusalem.  If  any 
one  is  disposed  to  maintain  that  each  of  these 
presbyters  presided  over  a  smaller  part  of  the 
Church  at  its  special  meetings,  still  it  must  there- 
by be  established  that,  notwithstanding  these  di- 
vided meetings,  the  Church  formed  a  whole,  over 
which  this  deliberative  college  of  presbyters  pre- 
sided, and  therefore  the  form  of  government  was 
still  republican?^ 

"  Each  individual  church,"  writes  Mosheim, 
^^  assumed  to  itself  the  form  and  rights  of  a  little 
distinct  republic  or  commonwealth  ;  and  with  regard 
to  its  internal  concerns  was  wholly  regulated  by 
a  code  of  laws  that,  if  they  did  not  originate  with, 
had  at  least  received  the  sanction  of,  the  people 
constituting  such  church. 

"At  length  the  churches  of  a  province  became 
associated,  much  after  the  manner  of  ^'confederate 
republics,  held  conventions  in  which  the  common 
interest  was  provided  for;  so  that  the  Christian 
community  may  be  said,  thenceforward,  to  have 
resembled  one  large  commonwealth,  made  up,  like 
those  of  Holland  and  Switzerland,  of  many  minor 
republics.'' 


142  JENNY  GEDDES. 

Bancroft  writes:  "Calvinism  is  gradual  repub- 
licanism. In  Geneva,  a  republic  on  the  confines 
of  France,  Italy  and  Germany,  Calvin,  appealing 
to  the  people  for  support,  continued  the  career 
of  enfranchisement  by  planting  the  institutions 
which  nursed  the  minds  of  Kousseau,  Necker  and 
De  Stael.  The  political  character  of  Calvinism, 
which,  with  one  consent  and  with  instinctive  judg- 
ment, the  monarchs  of  that  day  feared  as  7'epubli~ 
canismy  and  which  Charles  I.  declared  a  religion 
unfit  for  a  gentleman,  is  expressed  in  a  single 
word — predestination.^^ 

What  historians  assert,  Presbyterians  claim. 
"  Our  system  of  polity,"  writes  Dr.  Smythe,  quot- 
ing from  Dr.  Rice,  "was  drawn  up  at  a  time 
when  the  general  principles  of  government  and 
the  great  subject  of  human  rights  and  privileges 
were  more  thoroughly  and  anxiously  discussed 
than  at  any  other  period  since  the  settlement  of 
this  country.  It  was  during  the  time  when  the 
sages  of  America  were  employed  in  framing  the 
Federal  Constitution.  And  the  men  who  drew 
up  this  form  of  government  were,  many  of  them 
at  least,  men  deeply  versed  in  civil  and  ecclesias- 
tical history.  Perhaps  this  may,  in  some  measure, 
account  for  the  striking  similarity  which   occurs 


THE  CHURCH.  143 

in  the  fundamental  principles  of  our  polity  and 
the  form  of  government  adopted  by  the  United 
States.  Like  that  form  of  government,  our  polity 
is  neither  monarchical  nor  democratical,  but  a 
democratic  republic.'' 

"  Hence,  the  more  decidedly  a  man  is  a  Presby- 
terian the  more  decidedly  is  he  a  republican.  So 
much  is  this  the  case,  that  some  Christians  of  this 
society,  fully  believing  that  Presbytery  is  de  jure 
divino,  consider  this  as  decisive  evidence  that  re- 
publicanism is  of  divine  institution,  and  are  per- 
suaded that  they  should  grievously  sin  against  God 
by  acknowledging  any  other  form  of  civil  govern- 
ment." 

Alexander  Henderson  writes :  "  Here  is  a  supe- 
riority without  tyranny,  for  no  minister  has  a 
papal  or  monarchical  jurisdiction  over  his  own 
flock,  far  less  over  other  pastors  and  over  all  the 
congregations  of  a  large  diocese.  Here  is  parity 
without  confusion  and  disorder,  for  the  pastors  are 
in  order  before  elders,  and  elders  before  deacons; 
every  particular  church  is  subordinate  to  a  presby- 
tery, the  presbytery  to  the  synod,  and  the  synod  to 
the  National  Assembly.  Here  is  subjection  with- 
out slavery,  for  the  people  are  subject  to  the  pastors 
and  assemblies ;  yet  there  is  no  assembly  wherein 


144  JENNY  GEDDES. 

every  particular  church  hath  not  interest  and 
power,  nor  is  there  anything  done  but  they  are — 
if  not  actually,  yet  virtually — called  to  consent 
unto  it.'^ 

And  what  Presbyterians  claim  is  charged  upon 
them  by  their  foes. 

Dr.  Peter  Heylin,  chaplain  to  those  graceless 
creatures,  Charles  I.  and  Charles  II.,  Avrote  a  work 
under  the  following  imposing  title:  "^rius  Re- 
divivus ;  or,  the  History  of  the  Presbyterians,  con- 
taining the  Beginnings,  Progresse  and  Successes  of 
that  Active  Sect — their  oppositions  to  Monarchical 
and  Episcopal  Government,''  etc.,  etc.  And  the 
volume  that  thus  begins  ends  as  follows:  "Thus 
have  we  seen  the  dangerous  Doctrines  and  Po- 
sitions, the  Secret  Plots  and  open  Practices ;  the 
Sacrileges,  Spoils  and  Rapines;  the  Tumults,  Mur- 
thers  and  Seditions ;  the  horrid  Treasons  and  Re- 
bellions which  have  been  raised  by  the  Presbyte- 
rians in  most  parts  of  Christendom  for  one  hundred 
years  and  upward,  which  having  been  seen,"  etc., 
etc. 

Hallam  writes  :  "  The  discontented  party  set  up 
their  own  platform  of  government  by  synods  and 
classes  agreeably  to  the  Presbyterian  model  estab- 
lished   in    Scotland.       Though    Elizabeth,    from 


THE  CHURCH.  145 

policy,  abetted  the  Scottish  clergy  in  their  attacks 
upon  the  civil  administration,  this  connection  itself 
had  probably  given  her  such  insight  into  their 
temper,  as  well  as  their  influence,  that  she  must 
have  shuddered  at  the  thought  of  seeing  a  republic 
can  assembly  substituted  for  those  faithful  satraps, 
her  bishops,  so  ready  to  do  her  bidding/' 

Macaulay  speaks  of  the  Scottish  preachers  as 
those  "  who  had  inherited  the  republican  opinions 
and  the  unconquerable  spirit  of  Knox." 

"  Calvin,"  says  Bishop  Horsley,  quoted  by 
Smythe,  "  was  unquestionably  in  theory  a  republi- 
can. So  wedded  was  he  to  this  notion  that  he  en- 
deavoured to  fashion  the  government  of  all  the 
Protestant  churches  upon  republican  principles ; 
and  his  persevering  zeal  in  that  attempt  was  fol- 
lowed, upon  the  whole,  with  wide  and  mischievous 
success." 

Bishop  Hughes  writes  :  "Though  it  is  my  privi- 
lege to  regard  the  authority  exercised  by  the  Gene- 
ral Assembly  as  usurpation,  still  I  must  say,  with 
exevy  man  acquainted  with  the  mode  in  which  it 
is  organized,  that  for  the  purposes  of  popular  and 
political  government,  its  structure  is  little  inferior  to 
that  of  Congress  itself.  In  any  emergency  that 
may   arise  the   General  Assembly  can   proaiice  a 

10 


146  JENNY  GEDDES. 

uniformity  among  its  adherents  to  the  farthest 
boundaries  of  the  land.  It  acts  on  the  principle 
of  a  radiating  centre,  and  is  without  an  equal 
OR  A  RIVAL  among  the  other  denominations  of  the 
country." 

King  James,  with  characteristic  coarseness,  ex- 
claimed at  the  Hampton  Court  Conference;  "You 
are  aiming  at  a  Scot's  Presbytery,  which  agrees 
with  monarchy  as  well  as  God  with  the  devil.*' 

Charles  I.  no  less  cordially  detested  it.  "  Show 
me,"  he  demanded,  "any  precedent  wherever 
presbyterial  government  and  regal  were  together 
without  perpetual  rebellions.  And  it  cannot  be 
otherwise,  for  the  ground  of  their  doctrine  is 
anti-monarchical.  I  will  say,  without  hyperbole, 
that  there  was  not  a  wiser  man  since  Solomon  than 
he  who  said,  Xo  bishop  no  king."  He  said  he 
looked  upon  Episcopacy  as  a  stronger  support  of 
monarchical  power  than  even  the  army. 

Dean  Swift,  that  ornament  of  the  English 
Church,  has  added  his  testimony.  Speaking  of 
those  who  took  refuge  in  Geneva  from  persecution 
in  England,  he  says :  "  When  they  returned,  they 
were  grown  so  fond  of  the  government  and  re- 
ligion of  the  place  they  had  left  that  they  used  all 
possible   endeavours    to    introduce   both   into    our 


THE  CHURCH.  147 

country.  From  hence  they  proceeded  to  quarrel 
with  the  kingly  government,  because  the  city  of 
Geneva,  to  which  their  fathers  had  flown  for  re- 
fuge, was  a  commonwealth,  or  government  of  the 
people." 

The  poet  Dryden,  too,  more  famed  for  poetry 
than  for  piety,  wrote  : 

"  So  Presbytery  and  its  pestilential  zeal 
Can  flourish  only  in  a  commonweal^ 

And  how  thoroughly  Presbyterianism  has  main- 
tained its  republican  character  in  America  let  his- 
tory show.  On  this  point  we  are  still  indebted  to 
Dr.  Smythe's  able  work,  "  Ecclesiastical  Republic- 
anism.'^ 

In  1767,  an  appeal  was  issued  in  New  York  on 
behalf  of  the  Church  of  England  in  America,  in 
which  we  read  :  "  Episcopacy  and  monarchy  are  in 
their  frame  and  constitution  best  suited  to  each 
other.  Episcopacy  can  never  thrive  in  a  republic, 
nor  republican  principles  in  an  Episcopal  Church. 
He  that  prefers  monarchy  in  the  State  is  more 
likely  to  approve.  Episcopacy  in  the  Church.  It 
may  reasonably  be  expected  that  those  in  authority 
will  support  and  assist  the  Church  in  America,  if 
from  no  other  motives,  yet  from  a  regard  to  the 
State,  Avith  which  it  has  so  friendly  an  alliance." 


148  JENNY  GEDDES. 

A  year  before  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
the  Synod  of  New  York  declared  themselves  in 
favour  of  the  struggle  for  liberty,  and  during  the 
war  their  zeal  exposed  .them  to  special  cruelty  on 
the  part  of  the  British  soldiery.  "  They  were  the 
first  to  recognize  the  Declaration  when  made,  and 
materially  aided  in  the  passage  of  that  noble  act." 

Bancroft  writes,  in  his  seventh  volume : 

"A  similar  spirit  of  independence  prevailed  in 
the  highlands  which  hold  the  head  springs  of  the 
Yadkin  and  the  Catawba.  The  region  was  peopled 
chiefly  by  the  Presbyterians  of  Scotch-Irish  de- 
scent, who  brought  to  the  New  World  the  creed,  the 
spirit  of  resistance  and  the  courage  of  the  Cove- 
nanters. 

"  The  people  of  the  county  of  Mecklenburg  had 
carefully  observed  the  progress  of  the  controversy 
with  Britain,  and  during  the  winter  political  meet- 
ings had  been  repeatedly  held  in  Charlotte.  That 
town  had  been  chosen  for  the  seat  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian college,  which  the  legislature  of  North  Caro- 
lina had  chartered,  but  which  the  king  hud  dis- 
allowed, and  it  was  the  centre  of  the  culture  of 
that  part  of  the  province." 

When  the  crisis  came,  a  representative  committee 
was  appointed  and  met  in  Charlotte.    '^  No  minutes 


THE  CHURCH.  149 

of  the  committee  are  known  to  exist,  but  the  result 
of  their  deliberations,  framed  with  superior  skill 
and  precision  of  language  and  calm  comprehensive- 
ness, remains  as  the  monument  of  their  wisdom 
and  courage.  Of  the  delegates  to  that  memorable 
assembly,  the  name  of  Ephraim  Brevard  should 
be  remembered  with  honour  by  his  countrymen. 
Trained  in  the  college  at  Princeton,  ripened 
among  the  brave  Presbyterians  of  Middle  Caro- 
lina, he  digested  the  system  which  was  then  adopt- 
ed, and  which  formed  in  effect  a  declaration  of 
independence,  as  well  as  a  complete  system  of  gov- 
ernment. *A11  laws  and  commissions  confirmed 
by  or  derived  from  the  king  or  parliament  are  an- 
nulled and  vacated;  the  provincial  congress  of  each 
province,  under  direction  of  the  great  continental 
congress,  is  invested  with  all  legislative  and  execu- 
tive powers.' " 

A  wise  and  judicious  system  of  government  was 
then  prepared.  The  resolves  were  made  binding 
on  all,  and  the  militia  companies  ordered  to  provide 
themselves  with  arms  to  maintain  them. 

"Before  the  month  of  May,  1775,  had  come  to  an 
end,  the  resolutions  were  signed  by  Ephraim  Bre- 
vard, as  clerk  of  the  committee,  and  were  adopted 
by   the   people   with   the   determined    enthusiasm 


150  JENNY  GEDDES. 

which  springs  from  the  combined  influence  of  the 
love  of  liberty  and  of  religion.  Thus  was  Meck- 
lenburg county  in  North  Carolina  separated  from 
the  British  empire/^ 

And  through  the  whole  momentous  struggle 
Presbyterianism  displayed  the  same  ardent,  deter- 
mined, patriotic  spirit.  To  quote  the  eloquent 
words  of  the  writer's  late  beloved  friend  and  for- 
mer pastor,  Br.  John  M.  Krebs — words  that  it  was 
our  lot  to  hear  when  uttered  from  the  pulpit — 
"  When  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  under 
debate  in  the  Continental  Congress,  doubts  and  fore- 
bodings were  whispered  through  the  hall.  The 
houses  hesitated,  wavered,  and  for  a  while  the 
liberty  and  slavery  of  the  nation  appeared  to  hang 
in  an  even  scale.  It  was  then  an  aged  patriarch 
arose,  a  venerable  and  stately  form,  his  head  white 
with  the  frost  of  years.  Every  eye  went  to  him 
with  the  quickness  of  thought,  and  remained  with 
the  fixedness  of  the  polar  star.  He  cast  on  the 
assembly  a  look  of  inexpressible  interest  and  un- 
conquerable determination,  while  on  his  visage  the 
hue  of  age  was  lost  in  the  flush  of  a  burning  pa- 
triotism that  fired  his  cheek.  ^  There  is,'  said  he, 
'  a  tide  in  the  aifairs  of  men,  a  nick  of  time.  We 
perceive  it  now  before  us.     To  hesitate  is  to  con- 


THE  CHURCH.  151 

sent  to  our  own  slavery.  That  noble  instrument 
upon  your  table,  which  ensures  immortality  to  its 
author,  should  be  subscribed  this  very  morning  by 
every  pen  in  the  house.  He  that  will  not  respond 
to  its  accents,  and  strain  every  nerve  to  carry  into 
eifect  its  provisions,  is  unworthy  of  the  name  of 
freeman.  For  my  own  part,  of  property  I  have 
some,  of  reputation  more.  That  reputation  is 
staked,  that  property  is  pledged  on  the  issue  of  this 
contest.  And  although  these  gray  hairs  must  soon 
descend  into  the  sepulchre,  I  would  infinitely  rather 
they  should  descend  there  by  the  hands  of  the  exe- 
cutioner than  desert  at  this  crisis  the  sacred  cause 
of  my  country.' 

"  Who  w^as  it  that  uttered  this  memorable 
speech — potent  in  turning  the  scales  of  the  na- 
tion's destiny,  and  worthy  to  be  preserved  in  the 
same  imperishable  record  in  which  is  registered 
the  not  more  eloquent  speech  ascribed  to  John 
Adams  on  the  same  sublime  occasion?  It  was 
John  AVitherspoon,  at  that  day  the  most  distin- 
guished Presbyterian  minister  west  of  the  Atlantic 
ocean,  the  father  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
the  United  States." 

Dr.  Smythe  writes :  ''  We  have  collected  from 
high  authority  the   following  facts  :    The   battles 


152  JENNY  GEDDES. 

of  the  Cowpens,  of  King's  Mountain,  and  also  the 
severe  skirmish  known  as  Hack's  Defeat,  are 
among  the  most  celebrated  in  this  State,  as  giving 
a  turning-point  to  the  contest  of  the  Revolution. 
General  Morgan,  who  commanded  at  the  Cowpens, 
was  a  Presbyterian  elder.  General  Pickens,  who 
made  all  the  arrangements  for  the  battle,  was  also 
a  Presbyterian  elder.  And  nearly  all  under  their 
command  were  Presbyterians.  In  the  battle  of 
King's  Mountain,  Colonel  Campbell,  Colonel 
James  Williams,  Colonel  Cleaveland,  Colonel 
Shelby,  and  Colonel  Servier  were  all  Presbyterian 
elders,  and  the  body  of  their  troops  were  collected 
from  Presbyterian  settlements.  At  Huck's  Defeat, 
in  York,  Colonel  Bratton  and  Major  Dickson  were 
both  elders  in  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Major 
Samuel  Morrow,  who  was  with  Colonel  Sumpter 
in  four  engagements,  and  at  King's  Mountain, 
Blackstock's  and  other  battles,  was  for  about 
fifty  years  a  ruling  elder  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church." 

"A  Presbyterian  loyalist,"  says  Mr.  William 
B.  Reed,  himself  an  Episcopalian,  "  was  a  thing 
unheard  of.  Patriotic  clergymen  of  the  Estab- 
lished Church  were  exceptions  to  the  general  con- 
duct.    The  debt  of  gratitude  which   independent 


THE  CHURCH.  153 

America   owes  to  the  dissenting  clergy  and  laity 
can  never  be  paid." 

Our  Church,  then,  in  form  and  spirit  is  thor- 
oughly republican,  and  the  whole  tendency  of  our 
system  is  to  imbue  its  clergy  and  members  with 
republican  feeling  and  sympathy;  and  in  this  it 
is  more  thoroughly  in  harmony  with  the  civil 
republicanism  of  our  government  and  nation  than 
any  other  ecclesiastical  system  that  exists  under 
the  shadow  of  our  national  banner. 


CHURCH  AND  STATE. 

156 


III. 

CHURCH  AND  STATE. 

IjHATEVER  society  has  the  right  to  exist 
has  therein  the  right  to  institute  and  carry 
out  such  system  of  government  over  its 
membership  as  is  essential  to  its  continued 
existence.  But  if  anything  on  earth  has  such 
right,  the  Church  of  Christ  has ;  this  right  based 
on  the  will  of  God.  It  is  by  his  express  com- 
mand, through  his  own  agency,  that  it  comes  into 
being.  It  asks  no  leave  of  human  governments 
to  be.  It  springs  up  as  the  flowers  do  in  the 
meadows,  in  lands  where  civil  governments  are, 
and  whatever  their  form,  and  w^iere  they  are 
not,  in  America  and  Britain,  among  the  Indians 
in  the  forest,  in  China  and  Hindostan.  It  not 
only  asks  no  leave  of  civil  governments  to  be, 
but  grows  up  under  their  eyes  and  despite  their 
opposition.  No  poor  sapling  on  the  cold,  thin- 
soiled  mountain-side  ever  struggled  more  toil- 
somely  and    persistently   for    life    than    has    the 

157 


158  JEN^Y  GEDDES. 

Church,  in  many  a  land  under  the  frown,  wrath 
and  merciless  persecution  of  secular  governments. 
When  its  infant  King  entered  the  world,  Herod 
trembled,  and  all  Jerusalem  with  him.  But 
Herod's  trembling  soon  gave  place  to  energetic 
malice,  and  he  sent  his  soldiers  to  kill  the  royal 
babe  in  his  mother's  arms.  From  that  hour,  for 
many  a  weary,  bloody  century,  the  Church  grew, 
in  spite  of  governmental  frowns  and  violence, 
until  it  became  a  mighty  power.  The  blood  of 
its  martyrs  proved  a  prolific  seed,  and  the  ashes 
of  martyr-fires,  as  they  were  blown  upon  the  peo- 
ple, made  them  Christians.  The  Neros  and  Do- 
raitians  lent  all  their  imperial  power  in  vain  to 
overcome  the  power  of  the  gospel  and  stay  the 
march  of  faith  and  repentance. 

And  this  Church  possesses,  direct  from  God, 
the  right  to  institute  and  carry  out  its  own  sys- 
tem of  government.  This  right  lies  in  its  own 
bosom.  No  secular  government  may  say  what 
form  that  government  shall  assume — may  modify 
any  one  of  its  laws — may  interpose  between  it 
and  the  execution  of  any  one  of  its  sentences 
against  offenders — may  make  any  law  that  shall, 
by  its  operation,  interfere  with  the  operation  of 
the  legitimate  laws  of  the  Church.     If  it  do,  the 


CHURCH  AND  STATE.  169^ 

Church  is  bound  to  protest  against  and  disregard 
such  enactments. 

But  the  question  as  to  the  legitimate  relations 
subsisting  between  these  two  styles  of  govern- 
ment—  the  secular  and  the  ecclesiastical  —  as  to 
how  they  can  coexist  among  the  same  people,  and 
just  where  their  boundaries  meet  and  limit  each 
other,  is  one  that  has  evoked  boundless,  and  some- 
times passionate,  discussion  —  has  employed  the 
ablest  pens,  and  is  even  yet  far  from  having  found 
final  and  generally-accepted  solution.  How  can 
tw^o  several  governments  within  the  same  terri- 
tories, operating  upon  the  same  persons,  yet  each 
entirely  independent  of  the  other,  coexist  without 
collision  ?  And,  in  fact,  in  very  few  countries 
have  they  ever  so  existed  for  any  considerable 
length  of  time.  Each  has  at  one  time  or  another 
encroached  upon  and  attained  melancholy  ascend- 
ency over  its  neighbour.  The  conflict  between 
them  began  very  early,  and  the  history  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland  is  hardly  more  than  a  con- 
tinued succession  of  such  conflicts. 

But  wlienever  they  do  occur,  the  difficulty  has 
arisen,  not  from  essential  antagonism  between 
them,  but  from  some  abnormal  action  on  the 
part  of  the  one  or  the  other.     How,  indeed,  is  it 


160  JENNY  GEDDES. 

possible  for  them,  "when  acting  each  within  its 
own  legitimate  sphere,  to  come  in  any  way  or 
degree  into  conflict.  God  is  the  Author  of  both. 
He  has  ordained  them.  And  how  could  he  who 
is  infinite  in  wisdom  and  who  has  so  wonderfully 
adjusted  the  wheels  of  all  nature  in  their  un- 
jarring  harmonies ;  the  planetary  and  stellar  sys- 
tems working  with  such  undeviating  accuracy; 
the  oxygen  and  carbon  in  our  atmosphere,  the 
great  predominance  of  one  destroying  human,  and 
of  the  other  vegetable  life,  yet,  though  ever  chang- 
ing conditions,  after  six  thousand  years  retaining 
just  their  originally-appointed  proportions;  the 
light,  too,  just  adapted  to  the  eye  and  the  eye  to 
the  light, — how  could  the  Master  of  all  these  har- 
monies make  a  mistake  in  the  simpler  matter  of 
adjusting  these  powers  of  Church  and  State? 

Yet  the  history  of  the  antagonisms  between, 
and  alternate  encroachments  of,  civil  and  ecclesi- 
astical governments  fills  many  a  sadly  instructive 
page  in  the  annals  of  the  world. 

Nero  was  the  first  Roman  emperor  who  enacted 
laws  against  the  Christians,  and  these  laws  were 
directed  against  them  not  as  an  obnoxious  gov- 
ernmental power,  but  as  the  professors  of  a  faith 
that  scorned  all  acknowledgment  of  the  heathen- 


CHURCH  AND  STATE.  161 

ism  of  the  empire.  In  this  he  was  followed  by 
Diocletian  aud  other  emperors  down  to  Con- 
stantine. 

By  this  time,  however,  the  primitive  govern- 
ment of  the  Church  had  undergone  an  entire 
transformation,  and  church  authority,  in  the  hands 
of  bishops  invested  with  almost  regal  dignities, 
liad  become  a  power  to  be  either  courted  or 
brought  under  subjection.  The  first  encroach- 
ments of  the  one  upon  the  authority  of  the  other 
came  from  the  State,  and  from  the  time  of  Con- 
stantine  "the  supreme  civil  powers,  professing  to 
feel  an  obligation  to  exert  their  civil  authority 
for  the  welfare  of  the  Church  and  the  good  of 
religion,'^  frequently  interfered  "  to  a  large  extent 
in  religious,  theological  and  ecclesiastical  matters, 
professedly  in  discharge  of  this  obligation." 

Constantine  himself,  though  he  made  no  great 
alterations  in  the  government  of  the  Church,  and 
allowed  it  to  remain,  as  it  had  hitherto  been,  a 
distinct  body  politic  separate  from  the  State,  yet 
assumed  supremacy  over  it,  and  exercised  to  some 
extent  a  right  to  give  its  government  such  shape 
as  seemed  to  him  conducive  to  the  general  good. 

Successive  emperors  assumed  the  right  to  con- 
voke ecclesiastical  councils,  to  preside  over  them, 
11 


162  JENNY  GEDDES. 

to  appoint  judges  to  decide  religious  controversies 
and  to  settle  difficulties  arising  between  bishops 
and  the  people.  They  often  determined  matters 
of  a  purely  ecclesiastical  nature. 

In  the  mean  time,  however,  without  knowing  it, 
they  were  fostering  a  power  that  should  one  day 
set  its  foot  upon  the  necks  of  kings  and  claim 
supreme  jurisdiction  in  matters  civil  as  well  as 
sacred. . 

The  bishop  of  Rome,  through  a  course  of 
gradual  aggrandizement,  came  at  length  into  pos- 
session of  vast  powders,  and  began  to  arrogate  to 
himself  the  spiritual  sovereignty  of  the  whole 
Church.  To  make  Constantinople  another  Rome, 
Aer  bishop  must  claim  and  receive  dignity  and 
authority  at  least  not  inferior  to  that  of  the  latter. 
Accordingly,  the  Council  of  Constantinople,  at  the 
end  of  the  fourth  century,  by  formal  canon,  ele- 
vated the  bishop  of  that  city  into  supremacy  over 
those  of  Alexandria  and  Antioch — a  supremacy 
soon  extended  over  all  Asia,  Thrace  and  Pontus. 
With  these  new  dignities  came  ncAv  emoluments. 
Thus  for  secular  ends  the  civil  power  played  off 
bishop  against  bishop,  until,  by  the  middle  of  the 
fifth  century,  these  dignitaries  were  "  monarchs 
without  disguise.'^ 


CHURCH  AND  STATE.  163 

At  length  the  Eoman  Empire  fell.  The  barba- 
rian deluge  swept  all  civil  power  to  ruin.  All  the 
bonds  of  society  were  broken,  and  a  dismal  anarchy 
set  in.  But  the  Church  did  not  fall.  After  the 
fashion  of  the  times,  slie  converted  these  barbarians 
and  subdued  them  to  her  spiritual  sway.  And 
now  all  eyes  turned  toward  Church  dignitaries  as 
the  only  tower  in  the  sea  of  confusion.  In  nume- 
rous instances  they  were  appealed  to  to  settle  con- 
troversies in  civil  matters,  and  the  idea  of  supreme 
dominion  in  State  affairs  soon  sprang  into  mind 
and  grew  to  an  early  and  vigorous  maturity. 

The  man  to  realize  this  idea  soon  appeared  in 
the  person  of  Hildebrand.  Of  obscure  parentage, 
in  1073  he  was  elected  to  the  Papal  chair  and  as- 
sumed the  name  of  Gregory  Yll. 

Hildebrand  was  a  man  of  uncommon  genius, 
whose  ambition  in  forming  the  most  arduous  pro- 
jects was  equalled  by  his  dexterity  in  bringing 
them  into  execution.  Sagacious,  crafty  and  intre- 
pid, nothing  could  escape  his  penetration,  defeat 
his  stratagems  or  daunt  his  courage;  haughty  and 
arrogant  beyond  all  measure,  obstinate,  impetuous 
and  intractable.  He  looked  up  to  the  summit  of 
universal  empire  with  a  wishful  eye,  and  laboured 
up  the  steep  ascent  with  uninterrupted  ardour  and 


164  JENNY  GEDDES. 

invincible  perseverance.  Void  of  all  principle, 
and  destitute  of  every  pious  and  virtuous  feeling, 
he  suftered  little  restraint  in  his  audacious  pursuits 
from  the  dictates  of  religion  or  the  remonstrances 
of  conscience. 

His  first  aim  was  to  make  the  see  of  Rome  ab- 
solute mistress  of  the  universal  Church.  This 
accomplished,  he  secured  the  independence  of  the 
affairs  of  the  Church  from  all  secular  control ;  and 
this  accomplished,  he  conceived,  and  to  a  large  ex- 
tent effected,  the  subjection  of  civil  government  to 
the  control  of  the  Church — that  is,  to  the  Komish 
pope.  In  the  execution  of  this  last  scheme  he 
encountered  opposition — formidable,  indeed,  but 
only  in  the  end  to  come  off  conqueror.  Henry 
IV.,  Emperor  of  Germany,  a  child  of  licentious- 
ness and  ambition,  whose  approbation  Gregory  had 
sought  and  obtained,  by  a  special  and  flattering 
embassage,  as  the  seal  of  his  election  to  the  pa- 
pacy, afterward  indignantly  resisted  the  efforts  of 
the  latter  to  withdraw  the  officials  of  the  Church 
from  secular  sway,  and,  assembling  a  diet  of  the 
empire  at  Worms,  deposed  his  antagonist  from  the 
papal  throne.  Gregory,  however,  neither  dis- 
mayed by  danger  nor  to  be  deterred  from  executing 
his  purpose  by  whatever  opposition,  rather  rejoiced 


CHURCH  AND  STATE.  165 

at  the  opportunity  thus  offered  of  realizuig  before 
all  the  world  by  a  splendid  example  his  grand 
scheme  of  universal  sovereignty.  He  accordingly 
convoked  a  council  at  the  Lateran  palace,  solemnly 
excommunicated  Henry,  and  in  the  name  of  St. 
Peter  declared  him  deposed  from  the  thrones  of 
Germany  and  Italy,  and  all  his  subjects  released 
from  their  allegiance.  Thus  the  vassal  changed 
place  with  his  master.  Henry 's  subjects,  ripe  for 
revolution,  willingly  accepted  their  new  condition, 
and  a  diet  was  convoked  to  elect  a  new  emperor. 
This  brought  the  proud  monarch  to  his  knees  in 
sackcloth  and  ashes.  Crossing  the  Alps  with  his 
wife  and  child,  Henry  arrived  at  the  pope's  resi- 
dence and  begged  for  an  interview.  The  proud 
priest  would  not  condescend  to  look  upon  his 
victim  till  the  latter  laid  aside  the  insignia  of 
royalty,  clad  himself  in  a  coarse  woollen  garment 
as  a  penitent,  and  in  this  guise  had  stood  barefoot 
for  three  days  from  morning  till  night  in  the  open 
court  and  in  the  depth  of  winter.  Then,  humbly 
confessing,  the  wretched  monarch  was  absolved  of 
excommunication,  but  his  restoration  to  the  throne 
was  referred  to  the  diet  of  the  empire. 

Thus  we  are  introduced  to  the  Romish  view  of 
the  legitimate  relations  subsisting  between  ecclesias^ 


166  Ji:XXY   GEDDES. 

deal  and  civil  government.  Romanism  maintains 
that  the  civil  authorities  are  as  such  subordinate  to 
ecclesiastical  domination.  This  view  is  based  upon 
the  lofty  character  of  the  objects  to  which  ecclesi- 
astical government  is  directed.  On  this  ground 
civil  rulers  are  bound  to  adjust  all  those  acts 
which  bear  upon  religious  persons  and  institutions 
to  the  laws  of  the  Church.  ^'  The  popish  doc- 
trine/' writes  Principal  Cunningham,  '^  makes  the 
civil  ruler  a  mere  tool  or  servant  of  the  Church, 
and  represents  him  as  implicitly  bound  to  carry 
out  the  Church's  objects,  to  execute  her  sentences, 
and  to  make  everything  subservient  to  the  accom- 
plishment of  her  designs." 

Thus  the  pope  is  represented  by  some  Romish 
writers  as  "  lord  paramount  of  the  world,"  and 
'^  invested  with  supreme  power  in  temporal 
things ;"  while  others  ^^  ascribe  to  him  but  an  in- 
direct authority  in  these  matters,  to  be  exercised  in 
ordine  ad  sj^lrUuaUa,  which,  as  he  is  the  judge  of 
when  and  how  far  the  interests  of  religion  may 
require  him  to  interfere  in  secular  matters,  is  just 
giving  him  as  much  of  temporal  power  as  hd  may 
find  it  convenient  to  claim  or  may  be  able  to  en- 
force." 

Further,  according  to  this  system,  church  officers, 


CHURCH  AND  STATE.  167 

in  all  matters  aifecting  their  personal  and  secular 
interests,  are  and  onght  to  be  exempt  from  civil 
jurisdiction.  In  whatever  land  they  live,  and 
under  whatever  form  of  government,  they  are 
subjects  first  and  completely  of  the  Church  as  re- 
presented by  its  head,  the  Papal  monarch.  Whe- 
ther worthy  of  pains  and  penalties  for  any  alleged 
offence,  it  is  for  the  ecclesiastical  not  for  the  secular 
courts  to  decide.  Thus  the  pope  in  his  assumed 
jurisdiction  is  omnipotent  among  his  widely-scat- 
tered subjects,  and  every  act  of  the  civil  govern- 
ment that  interferes  with  this  jurisdiction  is  an 
offence  against  God. 

In  the  opposite  extreme  from  this  view  is  that 
commonly  called  Erastian.  Erastus,  whose  name 
has.  become  associated  with  the  governmental  the- 
ory elaborated  from  views  first  distinctly  pro- 
nounced by,  though  not  wholly  originating  with 
him,  was  a  native  of  Switzerland,  a  physician  and 
a  man  of  erudition.  Joining  the  Reformers,  and 
indignant  alike  at  the  exorbitant  claims  of  Roman- 
ism and  at  some  of  the  principles  admitted  by  the 
Protestants  of  his  time,  he  went  to  the  opposite 
extreme,  and  resolved  all  the  disciplinary  powers 
of  the  Church  into  the  will  of  the  State.  The 
system  which  grew  out  of  the  principles  he  advo- 


168  JENNY  GEDDES. 

cated  seems  to  be  based  in  part  upon  exaggerated 
views  of  unity  in  the  State,  and  in  part  upon  a 
misapprehension  of  the  proper  functions  of  the 
body  politic.  This  latter  is  apprehended  as  an 
organization  so  compact  and  of  such  close  inter- 
dependence of  organs  as  to  necessitate  a  single  su- 
preme head  over  all — an  ultimate  authority  to 
which  all  questions  in  controversy  might  be  refer- 
red for  decision.  Without  a  head  the  body  politic 
is  a  monster;  and  with  two  heads,  the  one  spiritual 
and  the  other  secular,  it  is  hardly  less  monstrous. 
A  separate  jurisdiction  allowed  in  the  State,  but 
uncontrolled  by  the  State,  results  in  the  much- 
dreaded  hnperium  in  imperlo,  j^lacing  the  subject  at 
once  under  two  several  and  possibly  at  times  op- 
posing jurisdictions,  obedience  to  one  subjecting 
him  to  penalties  from  the  other. 

When,  therefore,  the  question  comes  up  for  de- 
cision as  to  which  of  the  great  interests  of  society, 
the  sacred  or  the  secular,  shall  hold  the  sceptre, 
while  Romanism  gives  it  to  the  former  as  in  every 
sense  the  higher  and  more  solemn,  Erastianism 
prefers  the  latter,  under  the  impression  that  civil 
government  is  legitimately  entrusted  with  control 
over  all  that  concerns  the  well-being  of  the  State. 

Mr.  Mill,    indeed,  has   affirmed  that   the  well- 


CHURCH  AND  STATE.  169 

being  of  the  governed,  collectively  and  individu- 
ally, is  the  object  of  government.  But  from  his 
extremely  low  views  of  spiritual  affairs  he  un- 
doubtedly ignores  them  altogether,  and  by  the 
"well-being  of  society''  refers  to  it  in  its  purely 
secular  aspects.  But  if  he  would  intimate  that  all 
things  that  conduce  to  man's  well-being  are  mat- 
ters for  direct  control  by  the  State,  religion  must 
come  first  and  foremost  in  the  list,  and  complete 
Erastianism  results. 

Lord  Macaulay  has  more  explicitly  declared  that 
government  is  designed  to  protect  persons  and 
property ;  to  compel  the  citizen  to  satisfy  his  wants 
by  industr}^  rather  than  by  rapine ;  to  compel  him 
to  settle  his  differences  with  his  neighbour  by  arbi- 
tration rather  than  by  the  strong  arm ;  and  to  di- 
rect the  whole  force  of  the  nation  as  that  of  one 
man  against  any  other  society  that  may  threaten 
with  injury. 

But  while  asserting,  with  all  earnestness,  the 
Iduty  of  every  man  in  or  out  of  authority  to  be  a 
religious  man,  and  as  such  to  use  all  his  influence 
to  favour  religion  as  bearing  more  weightily  upon 
the  weal  of  the  citizen  for  time  and  eternity  than 
all  others  combined,  yet  it  can  never  be  conceded 
that  religion,  either  in  its  doctrine  or  government, 


170  JENNY  GEDDES. 

is  at  all  under  the  control  of  the  secular  power. 
But  according  to  Erastianisra  the  object  of  civil 
government  is  the  citizen,  and  all  that  concerns 
man  as  such.  But  religion  seriously  concerns 
him,  and  hence  religion  must  be  under  its  con- 
trol. Religion  shapes  the  whole  course  of  hu- 
man conduct,  and  human  conduct  is  one  of  the 
direct  objects  of  governmental  control,  and  hence 
religion  must  come  under  its  sway.  Church  cen- 
sures and  discipline  directly,  and  sometimes  pow- 
erfully, invade  the  happiness  of  the  citizen,  and 
hence  they  must  be  under  the  efficient  oversight 
and  control  of  the  magistrate.  While,  therefore, 
church  officers  may  teach  and  exhort,  they  may  not 
inflict  censure,  or,  if  they  do,  it  may  only  be  as 
agents  and  instruments  of  the  civil  government. 

Erastianism  need  not  deny  that  the  Church  is  a 
society  within  a  society ;  it  may  admit  that  this 
society  possesses  authority  of  a  certain  degree  or 
kind  not  derived  directly  from  the  State ;  but  yet, 
as  the  State  is  supreme,  such  authority  is  to  be 
exercised  under  its  eye  and  within  the  limits  it 
prescribes,  and  from  all  decisions  of  the  church 
judicatories  appeal  must  lie  to  the  secular  power. 

The  State  may,  if  it  please,  and  when  its  consti- 
tution allows,  em])loy  the  ecclesiastical  power  for 


CHURCH  AND  STATE.  171 

the  benefit  of  the  citizen  and  the  good  of  society ; 
and  it  may  see  fit,  as  is  the  case  in  England. 
There,  among  the  matters  submitted  to  the  juris- 
diction of  the  bishops  are  the  questions  respecting 
wills,  marriage  and  divorce,  though  they  commonly 
reassign  these  questions  to  the  State  by  appointing 
secular  men  to  examine  and  decide  upon  them  ac- 
cording to  certain  established  rules.  And  even 
over  these  courts  and  officers,  the  civil  government 
maintains  a  careful  superintendence,  explaining 
the  laws  which  concern  the  extent  of  their  juris- 
diction, keeping  them  within  the  limits  of  that 
jurisdiction,  and,  if  they  exceed  those  limits,  issu- 
ing prohibitions  to  restrain  them,  or  summoning  to 
answer  for  their  conduct  before  the  civil  courts. 

Thus  the  English  Church  from  the  beginning 
has  been  thoroughly  Erastian.  It  is  the  creature 
and  slave  of  the  State.  Baptist  W.  Noel,  long 
under  its  dominion,  in  his  powerful  work  on  the 
"  Union  of  Church  and  State,"  has  drawn  a  vivid 
and  terrible  picture  of  the  rigours  and  corrupting 
influence  of  the  State  in  that  Establishment. 
"  Ever  since  the  union  of  the  Church  of  England 
with  its  imperious  and  profligate  head,  Henry 
YIIL,  who  burned  alive  the  friends  of  the  pope 
and  the  followers  of  Zwingli,  the  State  in  Eng- 


172  JENNY  GEDDES, 

land,  with  scarcely  the  exception  of  one  brief  in- 
terval, has  been  steadily  opposed  to  evangelical 
religion.  Queen  Mary,  though  a  bigoted  Catholic, 
continued  to  be  the  legal  head  of  the  Church  of 
England/' 

The  main  links  that  connect  the  Anglican 
Church  with  the  State,  the  Acts  of  Supremacy 
and  Uniformity,  "establish  the  subordination" 
of  the  Church,  "  abrogating  all  jurisdiction  and 
legislative  power  of  ecclesiastical  rulers  except  under 
authority  of  the  Croivn,  and  prohibiting  all  changes 
of  rites  and  discipline  without  the  approbation  of  the 
Parliament^' 

Over  the  clergy  Queen  Elizabeth  ruled  with 
despotic  sway.  On  a  question  between  the  bishop 
of  Ely  and  Cox,  this  pious  queen  wrote  to  the 
latter :  "  Proud  prelate,  you  know  what  you  were 
before  I  made  you  what  you  are.     If  you  do  not 

immediately  comply  with   my  request,  by   , 

I  will  unfrock  you !  Elizabeth.'' 

"  She  suspended  Fletcher,  bishop  of  London,  for 
marrying;  and  Aylmer  having  preached  against 
female  vanity  in  dress,  she  said  if  he  held  more 
discourse  on  such  matters  she  would  fit  him  for 
heaven." 

Noel  shows,  by  ample  quotation  from  the  laws 


CHURCH  AND  STATE.  173 

of  the  realm,  that  the  State  "claims  and  exercises 
the  right  of  superintendence  over  the  churches — 
that  bishops  and  pastors  have  no  manner  of  spirit- 
ual jurisdiction  within  the  churches  but  from  the 
Crown,  which  may  delegate  its  authority  to  eccle- 
siastical lawyers — that  no  minister  may  impeach 
the  royal  supremacy  in  spiritual  things  under  pain 
of  excommunication — that  the  State  determines  the 
settlement  of  pastors  within  the  establishment,  its 
doctrines  and  worship,  its  discipline  and  govern- 
ment." 

And  what  is  this  State  that  thus  lords  it  over 
God's  heritage  ?  It  embraces  the  Crown,  the  House 
of  Lords  and  the  Commons,  the  great  majority  of 
whom  are  men  not  even  Christians,  and  they  may 
all  be  infidels,  and  still  retain  their  legal  jurisdic- 
tion over  the  Established  Church !  And  that 
Church  has  become  what  it  now  is  by  "acts  of 
Parliament  formed  illegally,  corrupted  by  pensions 
and  overawed  by  prerogative." 

The  disastrous  effects  of  Church  alliance  with 
the  State  are  powerfully  exhibited. 

The  bishop  walks  into  a  palace  with  a  salary  of 
five  thousand  pounds  per  annum.  He  becomes  a 
peer  of  the  realm.  He  becomes  invested  with  a 
vast  amount  of  patronage.     The  archbishops  and 


174  JENNY  GEDDES. 

bishops  of  England  and  Wales  have  together  1248 
benefices  in  their  gift,  besides  other  church  pre- 
ferment. And  while  this  wealth  and  association 
with  worldly  rulers  tends  powerfully  to  corrupt  and 
secularize,  this  patronage  depresses  the  clergy  into 
a  degrading  servility  of  temper,  and  works  in  the 
prelate  a  haughty,  overbearing  spirit.  And  while 
the  lower  clergy  cringe  before  him,  he  cringes  in 
turn  to  the  ministers  of  the  Crown. 

Upon  the  pastor  the  effects  of  this  union  are 
no  less  deleterious.  It  makes  him  entirely  inde- 
pendent of  support  by  the  people,  and  thus  en- 
courages him  in  indolence.  '^And,  indeed,'^  asks 
Noel,  "is  there  more  than  one  rector  out  of  ten 
who  preaches,  catechises,  visits  the  sick  or  instructs 
from  house  to  house?"  It  makes  him  secure  of 
his  office,  though  his  character  may  be  ever  so 
subversive  of  piety  among  his  people — though  he 
be  "ignorant,  idle,  a  sportsman,  a  card-player, 
gluttonous,  proud  and  quarrelsome.  Bound  under 
solemn  and  repeated  oaths  to  maintain  the  ivhole 
system  of  the  Establishment,  and  bribed  thereto  by 
a  prospective  palace  and  five  thousand  pounds  a 
year,  he  must  refrain  from  attacking  such  notori- 
ous and  enormous  evils  as  the  introduction  of 
irreligious    youths    into   the    ministry,   the   com- 


CHURCH  AND  STATE.  175 

plete  fusion  of  the  Church  and  the  world  at  the 
Lord's  table,  the  almost  total  neglect  of  church 
discipline,  the  errors  of  the  articles  of  the  Prayer 
Book,  and  many,  many  others/^ 

If  the  bishop  refuses  to  induct  a  candidate  pre- 
sented by  the  patron,  which  patron  may  be  and 
often  is  an  utterly  irreligious  man,  the  law  lays 
its  hand  upon  him,  and  scarcely  any  presentee  is 
rejected,  and  the  pulpits  are  full  of  unconverted 
men. 

Under  this  system  the  Church  has  become  "  a 
confused  mass  of  believers  and  unbelievers,  allow- 
ing strangers  to  impose  upon  them  multitudes  of 
ungodly  pastors,  who  bring  a  spiritual  blight  upon 
them.  Upon  the  masses  of  the  working  class, 
the  myriads  of  fashion  and  the  whole  army  of 
scientific  and  literary  men,  Anglican  Christians 
make  scarcely  any  impression,  Avhile  a  latent  and 
widespread  infidelity  is  making  unchecked  ravages 
among  them." 

He  thus  concludes  his  review  of  this  system  : 
^^  The  union  of  the  churches  with  the  State  is 
doomed.  Condemned  by  reason  and  religion,  by 
Scripture  and  experience,  how  can  it  be  allowed  to 
injure  the  nation  much  longer?  Its  State  salaries, 
its  supremacy,  its  patronage,  its  compulsion  of  pay- 


176  JENJ^Y  GEDDES. 

meats  for  the  suj)port  of  religion  are  condemned 
by  both  the  precedents  and  precepts  of  the  word 
of  God.  It  excludes  the  gospel  from  thousands 
of  parishes,  perpetuates  corruptions  of  doctrine, 
hinders  all  spiritual  discipline,  desecrates  the  ordi- 
nances of  Christ,  confounds  the  Church  and  the 
world,  foments  schism,  tempts  ministers  to  become 
politicians,  embarrasses  successive  governments, 
maintains  one  chief  element  of  revolution  in  the 
country,  renders  the  reformation  of  the  Anglican 
churches  almost  hopeless,  hinders  the  progress  of 
the  Gospel  throughout  the  kingdom,  and  strength- 
ens all  the  corrupt  Papal  establishments  of  Eu- 
rope.'' 

Such,  then,  is  genuine  Erastianism  in  its  cha- 
racter and  results.  AVhile  Romanism  subjects  the 
State  to  the  Church,  Erastianism  subjects  the 
Church  to  the  State,  making  the  former  a  compo- 
nent and  subordinate  part  of  the  latter.  And  these 
evils  seem  to  be  necessarily  involved  in  a  formal 
governmental  alliance  of  the  Church  with  the  State. 
This,  indeed,  many  of  our  Scotch  brethren  most 
earnestly  deny ;  and  while  they  plead  with  all  zeal 
for  such  an  alliance,  they  with  equal  zeal  and  warm 
indignation  repudiate  and  denounce  Erastianism. 
Dr.  Chalmers,  Dr.  Cunningham,  and  other  noble 


CHURCH  AND  STATE.  177 

champions  of  tlie  truth,  contend  for  the  utter  inde- 
pendence of  the  Church  of  all  State  control,  and 
for  the  kingship  of  Christ  as  sole  monarch  of  the 
Church ;  and,  while  formally  admitting  that  the 
Church  for  centuries,  not  only  without  State  pa- 
tronage, but  in  opposition  to  its  persecuting  intole- 
rance, fully  and  nobly  accomplished  the  great  ends 
of  its  existence — while  constantly  conceding  that, 
with  very  few  if  any  exceptions,  such  alliances 
have  resulted  in  more  evil  than  good,  that  in  many 
noted  instances  the  Church  in  such  condition  has 
been  induced  to  consent  to  civil  interference  in 
ecclesiastical  affairs  fearfully  damaging  to  the  cause 
of  truth  and  righteousness,  Dr.  Cunningham  dis- 
tinctly declaring,  "  I  am  not  sure  that  any  Pro- 
testant established  Church  has  ever  wholly  escaped 
sin  and  degradation  by  such  alliance,  except  the 
Scottish  Church  at  the  second  Reformation'' — ac- 
knowledging that  even  in  Scotland,  under  the 
Revolution  settlement,  the  fundamental  principles 
of  the  Church  were  overturned  by  secular  influ- 
ence, ^'  so  that  it  became  impossible  for  a  man  who 
had  scriptural  views  of  what  a  Church  of  Christ 
is,  and  what  are  the  principles  by  which  its  affairs 
ousrht  to  be  regjulated  to  remain  in  connection  with 
it" — yet,   with   all  this,  they  are  fully  persuaded 

12 


178  JENNY  GEDDES. 

that  the  State,  as  such,  not  only  lawfully  may,  but 
is  under  solemn  obligation  to,  use  its  power  directly 
in  behalf  of  the  Church,  and  employ  its  resources 
to  maintain  her  ministers  and  promote  her  inte- 
rests. That  magistrates,  like  all  other  men,  should 
in  all  their  conduct  be  governed  by  Christian  prin- 
ciples, and  seek  to  further  the  cause  of  religion,  is 
admitted  by  all ;  but  when  the  State  consents,  out 
of  the  national  purse,  to  support,  in  whole  or  in 
part,  the  ministers  and  institutions  of  religion,  it 
is  very  difficult  to  convince  her  of  the  impropriety 
of  a  share  in  the  shaping  of  the  institutions  and  in 
the  appointment  and  control  of  the  ministers  she 
thus  supports ;  and  on  this  the  State  has  in  fact 
always  insisted,  and,  as  the  bitter  experience  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland  shows,  insisted  not  in  vain. 
If  the  State  pays  the  salaries  of  the  ministers,  she 
will  claim,  and  not  Avithout  reason,  to  share  largely 
in  determining  who  shall  receive  of  her  munifi- 
cence ;  and  she  will  also  claim  a  large  share  in  de- 
termining controversies  arising  among  them.  And 
this  results  in  practical  Erastianism  of  a  higher 
or  lower  grade.  And  while  the  example  of  the 
Church  in  her  best,  purest  and  most  efficient  days, 
for  centuries  in  succession,  stands  on  record,  and 
with  the  extended  experience  of  the  Church  in  the 


CHURCH  AND  STATE.  179 

United  States  In  view,  It  will  be  very  difficult  to 
convince  American  Christians  that  '^  a  condition  of 
entire  separation  from  the  State  and  entire  depend- 
ence upon  the  contributions  of  the  people''  is  not 
only  a  perfectly  lawful  and  honourable  condition 
for  the  Church  to  occupy,  but  also,  in  view  espe- 
cially of  the  fact  that  governmental  union '  of 
Church  and  State  has  invariably  resulted  in  serious 
damage  to  the  former,  that  it  is  not  the  only  system 
consistent  with  the  will  of  God  and  the  welfare  of 
religion.  Only  thus  can  the  Church  keep  the  ark  of 
God  from  contamination  by  men  who  have  neither 
love  for  her  doctrines  nor  regard  for  her  purity. 

The  third  theory  as  to  the  proper  relations  be- 
tween the  Church  and  State  is  that  prevalent  in 
our  republic. 

This  involves  their  coexistence  side  by  side,  yet 
each  in  complete  independence  of  the  other.  They 
are  twin  sisters  of  the  same  parent,  neither  pos- 
sessing any  dominion  over  the  other. 

That  civil  government  exists  by  ordinance  of 
God,  and  Is  by  him  clothed  with  authority  to  reach 
the  end  designed  in  Its  ordination,  few  W'lU  deny. 

No  less  true  is  it  that  the  Church  exists  by 
virtue  of  the  forthputting  of  divine  power  upon 
human  hearts,  and  it  also  is  invested  directly  from 


180  JEN^'Y  GEDDES. 

heaven  with  authority  of  a  certain  kind  over  its 
membership. 

Equally  manifest  is  it  that  from  the  necessity  of 
the  case  relations  of  a  very  intimate  character  sub- 
sist between  them.  They  are  children  of  the  same 
Father.  Their  subjects  are  the  same  persons. 
These  persons,  also,  are  directly  affected  in  their 
spiritual  interests  by  the  character  and  conduct  of 
the  secular  government,  and  in  their  secular  inter- 
ests by  the  control  and  decisions  of  the  spiritual 
government. 

Thus  over  the  two  grand  departments  of  human 
interest,  the  sacred  and  the  secular,  God  has  or- 
dered two  several  agencies — the  Church,  the  custo- 
dian of  religious  truth,  and  the  instructor  of  men 
therein  ;  and  the  State,  for  the  protection  of  men  in 
their  rights,  and  for  the  restraint  and  punishment 
of  those  who  invade  the  rights  of  others.  The 
specific  duties  allotted  to  the  one  are  entirely  dis- 
tinct from  those  allotted  to  the  other,  though  both 
contribute  to  the  common  weal.  Like  sunshine 
and  shower,  the  one  is  not  the  other,  yet  both  con- 
cur in  bringing  on  the  harvest. 

The  Church  is  not  the  State,  and  the  State  is  not 
the  Church,  yet  they  may,  and  one  day  will,  both 
comprehend   precisely   the   same   elementary   con- 


CHURCH  AND  STATE.  181 

stituents.  Every  member  of  the  Church  may  be 
a  citizen,  and  every  citizen  may  be  a  member  of 
the  Church. 

Yet  they  may  not  invade  each  other's  given 
spheres  of  service.  The  Church  cannot  annul 
even  an  iniquitous  enactment  of  the  State,  though 
she  may  and  must  protest  against  it,  and  through 
the  steady  operation  of  her  hallowed  instrumental- 
ities strive  so  to  reach  the  public  mind  and  heart 
as  to  bring  about  the  much-needed  reform.  The 
State  may  not  formally  annul  any  decree  of  the 
Church,  even  one  consigning  heretics  and  atheists 
to  the  flames,  but  she  may  and  ought  to  see  to  it 
that  such  a  law  remain  a  dead  letter  on  the  eccle- 
siastical statute-book. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  E.  P.  Humphrey  thus  concisely 
and  clearly  expounds  the  practical  relations  sub- 
sisting between  the  two  styles  of  government, 
spiritual  and  civil : 

"1.  The  Church  and  State  are,  both  of  them, 
ordinances  of  God. 

*^2.  The  province  of  each  is  separate  and  dis- 
tinct. The  Church  exists  for  the  salvation  of  sin- 
ners ;  the  State,  for  the  temporal  welfare  of  its 
citizens.  The  Church  ought  not  to  be  predomi- 
nant over  the  State,  which  is  pure  Papacy ;  nor 


182  JENNY  GEJDDES. 

subordinate  to  the  State,  which  is  Erastiaiiism ; 
nor  simply  tolerated  by  the  State,  which  is  semi- 
Erastianisni ;  but  wholly  independent  of  the  State, 
which  is  the  American  theory. 

'^  3.  Subjects  which  are  purely  secular  in  their 
nature  belong  exclusively  to  the  State.  Questions 
of  the  tariff,  of  banks,  income  taxes,  suffrage, 
the  army  and  navy,  and  the  like,  fall  under  the 
sole  jurisdiction  of  the  State,  and  any  attempt  on 
the  part  of  the  Church  to  determine  them  ought 
to  be  resisted.  So,  also,  subjects  which  are  purely 
spiritual  belong  exclusively  to  the  Church.  Ques- 
tions of  revealed  religion,  such  as  the  doctrine  of 
the  Trinity  and  the  Atonement,  the  mode  of  wor- 
ship, the  sacraments,  and  the  way  of  Church  gov- 
ernment, and  the  like,  fall  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  Church,  and  any  attempt  of  the  State  to 
meddle  with  them  ought  to  be  rebuked.  But  there 
are  subjects  which  may  be  called  mixed,  being  in 
some  of  their  aspects  secular  and  in  other  aspects 
reliofious.  Here  the  rule  is  obvious.  In  mixed 
cases  all  those  aspects  which  are  secular  belong  to 
the  State,  and  must  be  determined  by  the  civil  tri- 
bunal ;  all  those  aspects  which  are  spiritual  belong 
to  the  Church,  and  must  be  turned  over  to  the 
ecclesiastical  courts." 


CHURCH  AND  STATE.  183 

When^  therefore,  the  several  spheres  of  action 
and  specific  duties  of  Church  and  State  are  under- 
stood, there  is  neither  need  of  nor  room  for  colli- 
sion ;  and  that  this  theoretic  harmony  is  practi- 
cable also,  is  evident  from  the  happy  working  of 
the  voluntary  system  in  our  republic. 

Such,  then,  being  the  proper  relations  respect- 
ively of  Church  and  State,  each  independent  of 
the  other's  control,  yet,  as  twin  ordinances  of  God, 
closely  bound  together,  each  contributing  in  its 
own  way  and  measure  to  the  common  weal,  it  is 
obvious  that  they  should,  in  every  practicable  way, 
lend  each  other  a  hel2)ing  hand  in  their  several 
spheres.  And  sucli  is,  indeed,  largely  the  case  in 
the  United  States. 

The  State  not  only  carefully  withholds  her  hands 
from  imposing  unnecessary  burdens  upon  the 
Church,  but  in  many  ways  recognizes  Christianity 
as  a  fundamental  principle  in  the  nation.  Her 
magistrates  enter  office  with  their  hand  upon  the 
Bible  and  by  solemn  appeal  to  its  God.  She  ap- 
points chaplains  for  the  legislature  and  for  the 
army  and  navy.  The  Continental  Congress,  by 
formal  resolution,  encouraged  the  circulation  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures.  These  Scriptures  are  largely  read 
in  her   public   schools.     Her  laws  largely  protect 


184  JENNY   GEDDES. 

the  holy  Sabbath  from  desecrations.  She  throws 
open  her  hospitals  and  asylums  to  the  ministers  of 
religion,  and  often  in  negotiation  with  heathen 
powers  she  has  secured  access  for  the  gospel  to 
heathen  millions. 

But  whatever  is  done  by  the  State  in  behalf 
of  the  Church  is,  many  times  over,  repaid  in  ser- 
vices rendered  by  the  Church  in  return. 

If  the  State  protects  the  Church,  the  latter  prays 
for  the  State.  The  God  of  nations,  who  dashes 
them  in  pieces  like  a  potter's  vessel  or  assigns 
to  them  a  long  career  of  honour  and  glory,  is  a 
prayer-hearing  God,  and  many  a  time  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  nation  have  her  prayers  been  worth 
more  to  the  State  than  an  army  of  fifty  thousand 
men. 

In  the  republic,  reverence  for  law  is  her  very 
life,  and  a  general  spirit  of  lawlessness  her  ruin. 
But  to  the  prevalence  of  such  a  spirit  she  is  pe- 
culiarly exposed.  In  lands  where  the  laws  come 
down  from  a  sovereignty  acknowledged  as  of 
divine  right  and  armed  with  despotic  power,  the 
masses  are  easily  schooled  to  the  spirit  of  sub- 
mission. But  wdien  law  alone  is  sovereign,  and 
this  law  the  w^ork  of  legislators  created  by  the 
people;  when  laws  are  made  and  unmade  at  the 


CHURCH  AND  STATE.  185 

will  of  the  people  and  by  men  whose  conduct 
they  constantly  scrutinize,  and  whose  character 
they  feel  themselves  possessed,  as  it  were,  of  a 
divine  right  to  abuse  and  malign,  law  and  gov- 
ernment are  likely  to  share  in  the  contempt  which 
is  so  often — and  often  so  wickedly — visited  upon 
the  magistracy.  But  here  the  Church  steps  in, 
and  in  millions  of  ears  proclaims  her  doctrine, 
that  government  is  an  ordinance  of  God — that  its 
ministers  are  God's  ministers  as  truly  as  was  Moses 
or  Joshua — and  thus  she  reclothes  the  government 
with  that  mantle  of  majesty  torn  from  her  shoul- 
ders by  tlie  hands  of  an  irreverent  democracy. 
And  at  all  times  when  popular  passions  have 
overflowed  in  actual  or  threatened  violence,  her 
voice  has  been  on  the  side  of  law  and  order. 
Always  has  she  proclaimed  the  duty  of  rendering 
unto  Csesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's.  And  in 
times  of  peculiar  peril,  when  the  State  is  threat- 
ened with  disintegration  and  utter  overthrow; 
when  doctrines  are  uttered  and  maintained  at  the 
bayonet's  point  and  the  cannon's  mouth  which 
are  as  unscriptural  as  they  are  ruinous,  and  whose 
general  prevalence  would  operate  like  the  sus- 
pension of  the  law  of  gravitation  in  nature,  dis- 
persing all  things  in  wildest  confusion ;  and  when, 


186  JENNY  GEDDES. 

further,  the  Church  sees  in  this  threatened  dis- 
solution the  crippling  if  not  the  destruction  of 
all  her  great  agencies  for  benevolent  operations  in 
domestic  and  foreign  fields,  every  holy  instinct 
of  her  nature  impels  her,  and  every  solemn  obli- 
gation binds  her,  to  lift  up  her  voice  like  a  trum- 
pet and  ply  all  her  energies  in  rebuke  of  the 
ominous  error,  and  in  encouragement  and  support 
of  the  imperilled  government  ordained  of  God  for 
the  nation's  good  and  for  his  own  glory. 

Besides,  as  population  increases  and  wealth  be- 
comes extreme  on  the  one  hand  and  poverty  on 
the  other,  in  spite  of  whatever  opposition  it  may 
be  in  the  power  of  the  State  to  offer,  vice  will 
increase;  and  just  as  surely  as  unchecked  disease 
brings  death  to  the  patient,  so  surely  will  vice, 
when  it  reaches  a  certain  point,  bring  death  to 
the  republic,  plunging  into  anarchy  or  locking 
up  in  the  prison-house  of  despotism.  And  the 
balm  for  this  chronic  tendency,  the  medicament 
for  this  festering  sore,  is  in  the  Church,  and  in 
her  alone — in  her  divine  laws,  with  their  awful 
sanctions,  in  her  great  ideas  of  God,  the  judg- 
ment, eternity  and  retribution.  Tliese  ideas  are 
brought  into  contact  with  the  public  mind  through 
the  pulpit,  the  city  and  other  missionaries,  mission 


CHURCH  AND  STATE.  187 

and  otlier  Sabbath-scliools ;  and  the  service  the 
Church  thus  renders  to  the  cause  of  virtue  no 
arithmetic  can  possibly  compute. 

Complaint  is  sometimes  made  at  the  exemption 
of  church  property  from  taxation,  on  the  ground 
that  what  is  lost  to  the  revenues  in  this  way 
must  be  made  up  by  the  citizens  in  another,  and 
this  involves,  to  a  certain  extent,  the  support  of 
the  Church  by  the  State.  But  there  is  another 
side  to  this  question.  The  Church,  through  her 
influence  over  men,  is  constantly  bestowing  upon 
the  State  those  who  most  truly  and  purely  fill 
her  various  offices.  Besides  this,  she  turns  from 
the  ways  of  vice  multitudes  who  else  would  be- 
come murderers,  robbers  and  house-burners,  and 
thus  relieves  the  State  of  many  of  her  worst  ene- 
mies, and  from  the  taxation  needed  for  their  arrest, 
trial  and  support  in  prison.  In  a  word,  let  the 
State  seriously  burden  the  Church  in  her  work 
of  purifying  the  very  fountains  of  society,  and  she 
will  have  to  quadruple  her  taxation  even  to  exist 
at  all. 

Coarse  complaint  is  also  made  by  foreign  brawl- 
ers of  the  protection  afforded  to  preserve  the  Sab- 
bath from  overthrow.  But,  if  the  State  wishes 
to  tie  a  millstone  about  her  own  neck,  let  her  seri- 


188  JENNY  GEDDES. 

ously  cripple  the  energies  of  the  Church,  and  if 
she  wishes  seriously  to  cripple  her  energies,  let 
her  lend  her  aid  to  the  overthrow  of  the  holy 
Sabbath  day. 

Thus,  at  all  times  and  under  all  circumstances, 
while  carefully  refraining  from  interference  with 
each  other's  functions — the  Church  never  tampering 
with  the  duties  of  the  State  and  never  pandering 
to  the  passions  of  a  political  partisanship,  the  State 
never  laying  unholy  hands  upon  the  ark  of  God — 
they  should  still  sympathize  with  and  lend  their 
influence  in  furthering  the  prosperity  of  each  other, 
and  tlius  work  harmoniously  together  for  the  pub- 
lic w^eal. 


THE   CONFLICT. 

189 


^p  AYING  at  th 
jjl  to  the  revoluti 
^J  first  erreat  exi 


ly. 

THE  CONFLICT. 

the  outset  introduced  the  reader 


lutionary  outburst  at  St.  Giles,  that 
explosion  of  the  pent-up  antago- 
nisms between  Presbyterian  ism  on  the  one  hand 
and  despotism  on  the  other,  and  having  sketched 
an  outline  of  legitimate  ecclesiastical  government, 
and  the  proper  relations  between  it  and  the  State, 
we  -will  now  trace  the  rise  and  progress  of  that 
fierce  conflict  in  which  Presbyterianism  fought 
with  despotism  and  conquered,  and  then  point  out 
some  of  the  fruits  of  the  victory.  But  let  us  in- 
troduce the  war  by  an  inspection  of  the  battle-field, 

TH£]   JBATTJ.E-FIET.D. 

Immediately  after  the  close  of  the  apostolic  age 
corruptions  in  doctrine  and  practice,  which  had 
long  before  shown  a  vicious  impatience  with  the 
constraints  of  primitive  zeal  and  piety,  set  in  with 
a  tide  that  soon  buried  almost  the  whole  Church 

191 


192  JENNY  GEDDES. 

in  a  deluge  that  arose  higher  than  fifteen  cubits 
above  the  tops  of  the  mountains. 

The  great  awakening  in  the  sixteenth  century 
found  Scotland  a  field  where  the  beast  shook  his 
many  heads,  brandished  his  horns  and  stamped 
his  iron  feet  without  let  or  hindrance.  Remote 
from  the  great  centres  and  highways  of  civilization, 
the  public  mind  and  manners  were  hardly  reached 
by  those  forces  that  played  in  more  favoured  lands 
to  soften  and  subdue  and  prepare  for  the  coming 
of  the  white  horse  and  his  rider  (Rev.  vi.  2).  The 
public  character  wore,  therefore,  a  peculiar  stern- 
ness of  feature,  and  retained  not  a  few  traces  of  a 
hardly-waning  barbarism.  This  condition  of 
things  was  prolonged  by  the  anarchical  confusion 
of  civil  affairs.  In  other  countries  the  system  of 
feudal  anarchy,  which  forbade  anything  like  na- 
tional unity,  leaving  the  king  little  more  than  a 
powerful  baron  among  scores  of  others,  some  of 
them  at  times  more  powerful  than  himself,  impa- 
tient of  control,  following  the  monarch  when  they 
pleased,  and  deserting  his  armies  upon  any  freak 
and  at  every  pique,  had  yielded  to  an  ever-growing 
centralization  of  power,  and  anarchy  had  passed 
reluctantly  but  surely  into  the  fixed  forms  of  rigid 
despotism,  with  its  standing  armies  at  the  bidding 


THE  CONFLICT.  193 

of  one  vigorous  will.  But  in  Scotland  the  only- 
law  was  that  of  confusion,  the  only  unity  that  of 
fragmentary  disunion.  The  kings  were  a  "  feeble 
folk"  in  the  midst  of  their  haughty  nobles,  who 
each  avenged  his  own  wrongs  in  his  own  way,  and 
in  so  doing  perpeti'ated  other  wrongs  sure  to  bring 
down  sooner  or  later  like  wild  vengeance  from  the 
strong  arms  and  towering  passions  of  the  injured. 
In  all  the  fields  and  mountains  the  dove  of  peace 
found  no  resting-place  for  the  sole  of  her  foot, 
AVars  in  the  deep  interior,  w^ars  in  her  mountain 
gorges,  and,  more  than  all,  wars  almost  incessant 
on  the  southern  border,  fierce  forays,  slaughtering 
and  burning  and  rapine — these  w^re  the  scenes 
that  nourished  barbarism  and  frighted  civilization 
away. 

And  yet  all  this  was  anything  but  a  low  animal 
savageism.  In  the  bosom  of  this  rugged  mine  lay 
the  most  precious  jewels  of  valour,  endurance,  he- 
roism and  genius,  that,  once  brought  into  the 
forms  and  under  the  holy  restraints  and  constraints 
of  evangelical  faith,  would  issue  in  Knoxes,  Mel- 
villes,  Hendersons,  Chalmers,  Duffs,  Guthries  and 
Cunninghams. 

Macaulay  has  drawn  this  picture  of  that  people : 
*'  They  were  singularly  turbulent  and  ungovernable. 

13 


194  JENNY  GEDDES. 

They  had  butchered  their  First  James  in  his  bed- 
chamber; had  repeatedly  arrayed  themselves  in 
arms  against  the  Second ;  had  slain  James  the 
Third  on  the  field  of  battle ;  their  dissensions  had 
broken  the  heart  of  James  the  Fifth,  etc.  He 
adds,  that  they  deposed  and  imprisoned  Mary  and 
led  her  son  captive,  and  "  their  temper  was  rude 
and  intractable  as  ever." 

But  now  the  question  arises,  What  had  Roman- 
ism done,  during  the  long  centuries,  and  what  was 
it  now  doing,  to  infuse  the  mild,  heavenly  charities 
of  the  gospel  into  the  hearts  and  minds  of  this 
rude,  martial,  heroic,  half  civilized  nation  ? 

The  answer  is  found  in  the  following  words  of 
Dr.  McCrie,  in  his  able  Life  of  John  Knox : 

''  The  corruptions  by  which  the  Christian  relig- 
ion was  universally  disfigured  had  grown  to  a 
greater  height  in  Scotland  than  in  any  other  nation 
within  the  pale  of  the  Western  Church.  Supersti- 
tion and  religious  imposture,  in  their  grossest 
forms,  gained  an  easy  admission  among  a  rude  and 
ignorant  people.  By  means  of  these  the  clergy 
attained  to  an  exorbitant  degree  of  opulence  aiid 
power;  which  were  accompanied,  as  they  always 
have  been,  with  the  corruption  of  their  order  and 
of  the  whole  system  of  religion. 


THE  COXFLICT.  195 

''The  full  half  of  the  wealth  of  the  nation  belonged 
to  the  clergy,  and  the  greater  part  of  this  was  in 
the  hands  of  a  few  individuals,  who  had  the  com- 
mand of  the  whole  body.  Avarice,  ambition  and 
the  love  of  secular  pomp  reigned  among  the  supe- 
rior orders.  Bishops  and  abbots  rivalled  the  first 
nobility  in  magnificence  and  preceded  them  in 
honours ;  they  were  privy  councillors  and  lords 
of  session,  as  well  as  of  Parliament,  and  had  long 
engrossed  the  principal  offices  of  State.  A  vacant 
bishopric  or  abbey  called  forth  powerful  competi- 
tors, who  contended  for  it  as  for  a  principality  or 
petty  kingdom ;  it  was  obtained  by  similar  arts, 
and  not  unfrequently  taken  possession  of  by  the 
same  weapons.  Inferior  benefices  were  often  put 
up  for  sale,  or  bestowed  on  the  illiterate  and  un- 
worthy minions  of  courtiers — on  dice-players, 
strolling  bards  and  the  bastards  of  bishops.  Plu- 
ralities were  multiplied  without  bounds,  and  beni- 
fices,  given  in  commendam,  were  kept  vacant  dur- 
inor  the  life  of  the  commendator — nav,  sometimes 
during  several  lives,  so  that  extensive  parishes 
were  frequently  deprived  for  a  long  course  of  years 
of  all  religious  service.  The  bishops  never,  on 
any  occasion,  condescended  to  preach ;  indeed,  I 
scarcely  recollect  an  instance  of  it  mentibned  in 


196  JENNY  GEDDES. 

history  from  the  erection  of  the  regular  Scottish 
Episcopacy  down  to  the  era  of  the  Reformation. 

"The  lives  of  the  clergy,  exempted  from  secular 
jurisdiction  and  corrupted  by  wealth  and  idleness, 
were  become  a  scandal  to  religion  and  an  outrage 
on  decency ;  while  they  professed  chastity  and  pro- 
hibited, under  the  severest  penalties,  any  of  the 
ecclesiastical  order  from  contracting  lawful  w^ed- 
lock,  the  bishops  set  an  example  of  the  most 
shameless  profligacy  before  the  inferior  clergy; 
avowedly  kept  their  harlots,  provided  their  natural 
sons  with  benefices,  and  gave  their  daughters  in 
marriage  to  the  sons  of  the  nobility  and  principal 
gentry,  many  of  whom  were  so  mean  as  to  contam- 
inate the  blood  of  their  families  by  such  base  al- 
liances for  the  sake  of  the  rich  dowries  which  they 
brought. 

'' Through  the  blind  devotion  and  munificence  of 
princes  and  nobles,  monasteries,  those  nurseries  of 
superstition  and  idleness,  had  greatly  multiplied  in 
the  nation ;  and  though  they  had  universally  de- 
generated, and  were  notoriously  become  the  haunts 
of  lewdness  and  debauchery,  it  was  deemed  im- 
pious and  sacrilegious  to  reduce  their  number, 
abridge  their  privileges  or  alienate  their  funds. 
The  kingdom  swarmed  with  ignorant,  idle,  luxu- 


THE  CONFLTCT.  197 

rious  monks,  who,  like  locusts,  devoured  the  fruits 
of  the  earth  and  filled  the  air  with  pestilential 
infection. 

"  The  ignorance  of  the  clergy  respecting  religion 
was  as  gross  as  the  dissoluteness  of  their  morals. 
Even  bishops  were  not  ashamed  to  confess  that 
they  were  unacquainted  with  the  canon  of  their 
faith,  and  had  never  read  any  part  of  the  sacred 
Scriptures,  except  what  they  met  with  in  their  mis- 
sals. The  religious  service  was  mumbled  over  in 
a  dead  language,  which  many  of  the  priests  did 
not  understand  and  some  of  them  could  scarcely 
read ;  and  the  greatest  care  was  taken  to  prevent 
even  catechisms,  composed  and  approved  by  the 
clergy,  from  coming  into  the  hands  of  the  laity. 

''Scotland,  from  her  local  situation,  had  been  less 
exposed  to  disturbance  from  the  encroaching  am- 
bition, the  vexatious  exactions  and  fulminating 
anathemas  of  the  Vatican  court  than  the  countries 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Rome.  But  from  the 
same  cause  it  was  more  easy  for  the  domestic  clergy 
to  keep  upon  the  minds  of  the  people  that  exces- 
sive veneration  for  the  Holy  See  which  could  not 
be  long  felt  by  those  who  had  an  opportunity  of 
witnessing  its  vices  and  worldly  politics.  The 
burdens  which  attended  a  state  of  dependence  upon 


198  JENNY  GEDDES. 

a  remote  foreign  jurisdiction  were  severely  felt. 
The  most  important  causes  of  a  civil  nature,  which 
the  ecclesiastical  courts  had  contrived  to  bring 
within  their  jurisdiction,  Avere  frequently  carried 
to  Rome.  Large  sums  of  money  were  annually 
exported  out  of  the  kingdom  for  the  confirmation 
of  benefices,  the  conducting  of  appeals  and  many 
other  purposes,  in  exchange  for  Avhich  were  re- 
ceived leaden  bulls,  woollen  palls,  wooden  images, 
old  bones  and  similar  articles  of  precious  conse- 
crated mummery. 

"  Of  the  doctrines  of  Christianity  almost  nothing 
remained  but  the  name.  Instead  of  being  directed 
to  offer  up  their  adorations  to  one  God,  the  people 
were  taught  to  divide  them  among  an  innumerable 
company  of  inferior  deities.  A  plurality  of  medi- 
ators shared  the  honour  of  procuring  the  divine 
favour  with  Hhe  one  Mediator  between  God  and 
man;'  and  more  petitions  were  presented  to  the 
Virgin  Mary  and  otlier  saints  than  to  '  Him  whom 
the  Father  heareth  always/  The  sacrifice  of  the 
mass  was  represented  as  procuring  forgiveness  of 
sins  to  the  living  and  the  dead ;  and  the  consciences 
of  men  Avere  withdrawn  from  faith  in  the  merits 
of  their  Saviour  to  a  dehisiv-e  reliance  upon  priestly 
absolutions,  papal  pardons  and  voluntary  penances. 


THE  CONFLICT.  199 

Instead  of  being  instructed  to  demonstrate  the  sin- 
cerity of  their  faith  and  repentance  by  forsaking 
their  sins,  and  testifying  their  love  to  God  and 
man  by  practising  the  duties  of  morality  and  ob- 
serving the  ordinances  of  worship  authorized  by 
Scripture,  they  were  taught  that  if  they  regularly 
said  their  aves  and  their  credos,  confessed  them- 
selves to  a  priest,  punctually  paid  their  tithes  and 
church-oiFerings,  purchased  a  mass,  went  in  pil- 
grimage to  the  shrine  of  some  celebrated  saint, 
refrained  from  flesh  on  Fridays,  or  performed  some 
other  prescribed  act  of  bodily  mortification,  their 
salvation  was  infallibly  secured  in  due  time;  while 
those  who  were  so  rich  or  so  pious  as  to  build  a 
cliapel  or  an  altar,  and  to  endow  it  for  the  support 
of  a  priest,  to  perform  masses,  obits  and  dirges, 
procured  a  relaxation  of  the  pains  of  purgatory  for 
themselves  or  their  relations  in  proportion  to  the 
extent  of  their  liberality.  It  is  difficult  for  us  to 
conceive  how  empty  and  ridiculous  those  harangues 
were  which  the  monks  delivered  for  sermons. 
Legendary  tales  concerning  the  founder  of  some 
religious  order,  his  wonderful  sanctity,  the  mira- 
cles which  he  performed,  his  combats  with  the 
devil,  his  watchings,  fastings,  flagellations,  the 
virtues  of  holy  water,  chrism,  crossing  and  exor- 


200  JENNY  GEDDES. 

cism,  the  horrors  of  purgatory  and  tlie  numbers 
released  from  it  by  the  intercession  of  some  power- 
ful saint, — these,  with  low  jests,  table-talk  and 
fireside  scandal,  formed  the  favourite  topics  of  the 
preachers,  and  were  served  up  to  the  people  instead 
of  the  pure,  salutary  and  sublime  doctrines  of  the 
Bible. 

"The  beds  of  the  dying  were  besieged  and  their 
last  moments  distracted  by  avaricious  priests,  who 
laboured  to  extort  bequests  to  themselves  or  to 
the  Church.  Not  satisfied  with  exacting  tithes 
from  the  living,  a  demand  was  made  upon  the 
dead.  No  sooner  had  the  poor  husbandman 
breathed  his  last  than  the  rapacious  vicar  came 
and  carried  off  his  corpse-present,  which  he  re^ 
peated  as  often  as  death  visited  the  family.  Ec- 
clesiastical censures  were  fulminated  against  those 
who  were  reluctant  in  making  these  payments, 
or  who  should  themselves  be  disobedient  to  the 
clergy;  and  for  a  little  money  they  were  prosti- 
tuted on  the  most  trifling  occasions.  Divine  ser- 
vice was  neglected;  and,  except  on  festival-days, 
the  churches  in  many  parts  of  the  country  were 
no  longer  employed  for  sacred  purposes,  but  served 
as  sanctuaries  for  malefactors,  places  of  traffic  or 
resorts  for  pastime. 


THE  CONFLICT.  201 

"  Persecution  and  the  suppression  of  free  inquiry 
were  the  only  weapons  by  which  its  interested 
supporters  were  able  to  defend  this  system  of  cor- 
ruption and  imposture.  Every  avenue  by  which 
truth  might  enter  was  carefully  guarded.  Learn- 
ing was  branded  as  the  parent  of  heresy.  The 
most  frightful  pictures  were  drawn  of  those  who 
had  separated  from  the  Romish  Church,  and  held 
up  before  the  eyes  of  the  people  to  deter  them 
from  imitating  their  example.  If  any  person  who 
had  attained  a  degree  of  illumination  amid  the 
general  darkness  began  to  hint  dissatisfaction  with 
the  conduct  of  the  churchmen  and  to  propose  the 
correction  of  abuses,  he  was  immediately  stigma- 
tized as  a  heretic,  and,  if  he  did  not  secure  his 
safety  by  flight,  was  immured  in  a  dungeon  or 
committed  to  the  flames.  And  when  at  last,  in 
spite  of  all  precautions,  the  light  which  was  shin- 
ing around  did  break  in  and  spread  through  the 
nation,  the  clergy  prepared  the  most  desperate  and 
bloody  measures  for  its  extinction." 

Thus  much  had  Romanism  done,  and  this  was 
the  style  of  its  present  doing  to  civilize  and  Chris- 
tianize the  genius,  the  manners  of  Scotland.  And 
into  such  a  scene  was  Presbyterian  Protestantism 
about  to  enter,  to  scourge  out  the  desecrators  that 


202  JENNY  GEDDES. 

made  merchandise  of  souls,  overturn  the  tables  of 
the  money-changers  and  the  seats  of  them  that 
sold  doves,  and  transform  the  whole  den  of  thieves 
into  a  house  of  prayer. 

THE  INVASION. 

Had  Scotland  been  shut  up  from  invading  in- 
fluence from  abroad,  and  shut  in  under  the  sole 
tuition  of  the  Spirit,  there  can  be  little  doubt 
either  that  the  Reformation  would  sooner  or  later 
have  raised  its  banner  within  her  bounds,  or  that 
in  reconstructing  religious  doctrine  and  worship 
on  the  ruins  of  rejected  Popery  she  would,  as 
did  nearly  the  w^hole  reforming  Church,  have 
spontaneously  reverted  to  a  true  scriptural  Pres- 
byterianism.  As  it  w^as,  however,  most  of  the 
influences  that  crossed  the  border  and  survived 
the  crossing  were  Presbyterian.  In  the  middle 
of  the  fourteenth  century,  Wickliffe,  wdio,  as  we 
have  seen,  was  very  positive  "as  to  the  identity 
of  the  order  of  priests  and  bishops  in  the  apostolic 
age,"  was  shining  as  the  morning  star  of  the  Re- 
formation, and  the  penetrative  power  of  the  truth 
was  remarkably  illustrated  in  the  reach  and  force 
of  his  beams.  "  The  more  this  subject  is  investi- 
gated," writes  Dr.  INIcCrie  in  his  Life  of  Melville, 


THE  CONFLICT.  203 

'Uhe  more  clearly  am  I  persuaded  that  the  opinions 
of  Wickliife  had  a  powerful  and  extensive  influ- 
ence upon  the  Reformation.  Even  in  Scotland 
they  contributed  greatly  to  predispose  the  minds 
of  men  to  the  Protestant  doctrine."  And  here,  as 
elsewhere  within  the  realm  of  Popery,  Protest- 
antism was  compelled  to  track  its  early  way  in 
fire  and  blood. 

About  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
John  Resby,  a  disciple  of  Wickliffe,  crossed  from 
England  to  Scotland,  repeating  the  teachings  of  his 
master,  and  soon  found  his  Avay  into  the  flames. 
Twenty-five  years  later,  Paul  Craw,  a  Bohemian 
and  a  disciple  of  Huss,  w^hose  views  had  been 
largely  shaped  by  perusal  of  the  writings  of  Wick- 
liife, entered  the  Scottish  arena,  and,  for  the  crime 
of  preaching  Christ,  was  sent  after  Resby  to  a 
martyr's  grave.  And  lest  winged  words  from  his 
dying  lips  should  reach  the  ears  of  spectators  and 
evoke  forbidden  thoughts  and  emotions,  he  was 
burned  with  a  brass  ball  thrust  into  his  mouth. 
In  these  desultory  but  bloody  conflicts  between  the 
infant  Reformation  and  the  giant  Papacy  a  cen- 
tury rolled  away. 

By  this  time  the  contest  had  become  warmer, 
and  had  begun  to  assume  more  formidable  propor- 


204  JENNY  GEDDES. 

tions.  Inroads  were  more  frequent,  and  neither 
attack  nor  resistance  less  resolute.  The  leaven  of 
God  working  in  other  nations  was  feeling  its  way 
throne:!!  Scottish  minds  and  hearts.  Protestant 
writings  crept  into  the  kingdom,  and  stole  from 
hand  to  hand.  Men  read  and  thought,  and  longed 
and  prayed,  and  those  who  found  a  way  taught  in 
secret  and  trained  up  a  numerous  soldiery  for  the 
war.  Argus-eyed  Rome  could  not  fail  at  length 
to  discern  the  approach  of  danger,  and  in  1525  it 
induced  the  Parliament  to  enact  a  prohibition 
against  the  importation  of  religious  books,  and 
against  all  public  "  disputations  about  the  heresies 
of  Luther,  except  it  be  to  the  confusion  thereof, 
and  that  by  clerks  in  the  schools  alone." 

Ere  long  the  kingdom  was  startled  by  the  dis- 
covery that  the  new  heresy  was  penetrating  even 
into  royal  blood.  In  1528,  Patrick  Hamilton,  a 
"  youth  of  royal  lineage,  and  not  less  distinguished 
by  high  mental  endowments,"  came  back  from  his 
communings  with  Luther  and  Melancthon  on  the 
Continent,  and  began  to  preach  the  things  that  he 
had  seen  and  heard.  His  high  social  position,  his 
elegance  of  manners,  his  eloquence  and  holy  zeal 
gave  him  easy  and  powerful  access  to  the  popular 
heart,  and  filled  liis  foes  with  indignation.    Among 


THE  CONFLICT.  205 

the  eyes  fixed  upon  him  were  those  of  James  Bea- 
ton, archbishop  of  St.  Andrews,  who,  during  the 
minority  of  James  Y.,  ruled  the  State,  while  he, 
largely  also,  ruled  the  Church.  A  little  fearful  of 
both  the  young  king's  sympathy  and  the  popularity 
of  Hamilton,  he  managed  first  to  despatch  the 
former  on  a  pilgrimage  to  the  shrine  of  St.  Dothess, 
and  then  to  decoy  the  latter,  under  certain  pretences, 
to  St.  Andrew's.  There  he  brought  him  before  a 
council  that  condemned  him  to  death.  To  give 
force  and  validity  to  the  sentence,  he  induced  every 
person  of  note  within  reach  to  sign  it,  and  on  the 
last  day  of  February,  1628,  Hamilton  was  bound 
to  the  stake.  Removing  his  outer  garments,  he 
gave  them  to  his  faithful  servant,  saying,  "  This 
stuff  will  not  help  me  in  the  fire,  and  will  profit 
thee.  After  this  you  will  receive  no  more  good 
from  me,  but  the  example  of  my  death,  which  I 
pray  thee  keep  in  mind ;  for  albeit  it  be  bitter  to 
the  flesh  and  fearful  in  man's  judgment,  yet  it  is 
the  entrance  into  eternal  life,  which  none  shall  pos- 
sess that  denies  Christ  Jesus  before  this  wicked 
generation."  An  explosion  of  gunpowder,  though 
scorching  the  victim,  refused  to  light  the  pile ;  but 
fire  was  procured,  and  the  victory  was  won  !  Ro- 
manism remained  master  of  the  field. 


206  JENNY  GEDDES. 

But  from  every  drop  of  that  doubly-ennobled 
blood  there  arose  a  voice  of  thunder,  preaching 
the  blessed  '^  evangel,"  and  every  sj^ark  of  that 
consuming  fire  set  another  heart  on  fire  with 
truth.  The  report  of  that  martyrdom  spread 
through  the  kingdom  and  put  into  a  multitude 
of  mouths  the  questions:  ^^  For  what  was  Hamil- 
ton burned  ?  What  is  that  secret  power  that  can 
make  men  welcome  so  awful  a  death  and  turn 
even  horrid  martyrdom  into  singing  joy?"  The 
blood  of  the  martyrs  proved  the  seed  of  the  Church. 
Even  some  of  the  friars  began  to  question  and 
speak  words  that  savoured  of  the  new  heresy. 
The  archbishop,  alarmed  and  irritated  at  the  dis- 
covery that  his  silencing  flames  proved  only  a 
rousing  trumpet,  threatened  to  repeat  the  so  far 
worse  than  futile  experiment  upon  others;  when 
one  who  heard  him  remarked,  ^'  If  your  reverence 
will  burn  any  more,  you  had  better  do  it  in  a 
cellar,  for  the  smoke  of  Hamilton  hath  infected 
as  many  as  it  blew  upon." 

But  the  holy  man  preferred  the  open  canopy 
of  heaven  for  his  pious  work,  and  here  and  there 
the  smoke  was  soon  seen  curling  up  to  heaven, 
telling  that  other  '^  god-souls"  preferred  a  martyr's 
death  to  an  apostate  life.     In  August,  1534,  two 


THE  CONFLICT.  207 

more  were  sent  to  heaven  in  the  martyr's  fiery 
chariot. 

And  in  February,  1538,  five  more  were  burned 
"  in  one  huge  pile/^  on  Castle  Hill,  Edinburgh. 
A  little  later,  two  more  wrote  their  testimony  in 
fire  and  blood  at  Glasgow.  One  of  them,  a  young 
man,  at  first  shrunk  from  the  flames,  but  recover- 
ing spirit,  he  fell  on  his  knees,  gave  thanks  to 
God,  and,  rising,  exclaimed  :  "  Now  I  defy  death  ! 
Do  what  you  please — I  praise  God  I  am  ready  !'^ 
Even  the  archbisliop  quailed  before  this  scene, 
but  was  driven  through  to  the  bloody  end  by 
his  murderous  attendants. 

The  next  year  the  archbishop  went  to  the  bar 
of  God  to  give  account  of  these  murders  to  Him 
who  said,  "  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto 
one  of  the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have 
done  it  unto  me.''  He  was  succeeded  by  his 
nephew.  Cardinal  David  Beaton.  Able,  cunning, 
shamelessly  licentious,  implacable,  unmerciful,  ut- 
terly unscrupulous,  hesitating  at  no  measures  to 
reach  his  ends,  he  was  a  legitimate  son  of  the 
2)apacy  and  the  pope's  right  arm,  and  the  truth's 
and  the  nation's  scourge  for  many  a  dreary  year. 
He  took  an  early  opportunity  to  certify  the  world 
as  to  what  the  Reformation  might  expect  at  his 


208  JENNY  GEDDES. 

hands,  by  burning  in  effigy  Sir  John  Borthwick, 
who  had  fled  to  England. 


THE  VICTIM  AND  HIS  VICTOM. 

In  December,  1542,  James  Y.  passed  to  his 
grave  from  a  life  filled  with  struggles  with  his 
turbulent  nobility,  leaving  a  kingdom  distracted 
with  disorder,  and  a  daughter,  the  wretched  Mary, 
queen  of  Scots,  then  seven  days  old ;  and,  in  spite 
of  a  document  forged  by  the  cardinal  appointing 
himself  with  others  to  govern  the  realm,  James 
Hamilton,  earl  of  Arran,  in  a  meeting  of  nobles 
was  appointed  regent. 

The  cardinal's  popularity  was  not  increased  by 
the  discovery,  soon  after  the  king's  death,  of  a 
list  of  some  hundreds  of  persons  who  were  to  have 
been  denounced  as  heretics  and  their  property  con- 
fiscated. 

For  a  time,  Arran  favoured  the  Reformation, 
and  in  1542  an  act  of  Parliament  declared  it  law- 
ful that  the  Scriptures  be  read  by  all  the  people 
in  their  native  tongue,  and  the  holy,  mighty  Book 
was  soon  found  in  almost  every  person's  hands, 
to  the  indignation  and  chagrin  of  the  pious  car- 
dinal. But  Arran,  being  a  weak  and  fickle  man, 
soon   fell   under   the  power  of  Beaton,  who  was 


THE  CONFLICT.  209 

thus  enabled  to  rule  the  realm  almost  as  effect- 
ually as  if  he  had  been  regent  in  name.  And 
now,  with  the  reins  of  government  well  in  hand, 
he  began  to  crack  his  merciless  whip  over  the 
bleeding  back  of  the  Reformation. 

At  Perth  five  men  and  one  woman  were  brought 
before  him  ;  the  men  were  hanged  and  the  woman 
drowned.  The  poor  creature  had  refused  to  in- 
voke the  Virgin  during  the  pains  of  child-birth. 
Slie  first  looked  on  while  her  husband  was  slain, 
exhorting  him  to  constancy,  and  was  then  dragged 
to  a  pool,  and  removing  her  babe  from  her  breast, 
passed  into  the  cold  waters,  and  thence  to  the  banks 
of  the  river  that  flows  out  from  the  throne  of  God 
and  the  Lamb.  Departing  thence,  the  cardinal 
made  a  wide  circuit  of  blood  through  the  realm, 
taking  with  him  the  submissive  Arran  to  witness 
and  sanction  his  zeal  for  the  Lord. 

Tired  at  length  in  the  chase  after  meaner  game, 
he  fixed  his  eye  upon  George  Wishart,  brother  of 
the  laird  of  Pittarow.  Having  been  banished  for 
teaching  the  Greek  language,  he  had  returned  to 
do  even  a  worse  thing — to  preach  Jesus.  Crowds 
hung  on  his  eloquent  words  and  melted  under  his 
fervent  appeals.  Mild,  gentle,  patient  as  the  be- 
loved disciple,  he  displayed  a  character  of  surpass- 

14 


210  JENNY  GEDDES. 

ing  loveliness.  Driven  from  point  to  point,  he 
preached  now  on  the  hillside,  now  by  the  wayside, 
now  in  the  open  fields.  Beaton  first  sent  a  pions 
priest  to  stab  him,  but  Wishart  caught  the  assas- 
sin^s  arm  and  the  dagger  fell  to  the  ground.  Again, 
a  cunning  message  came,  begging  him  to  visit  a 
dying  man,  and  armed  men  waylaid  him  to  take 
him  dead  or  alive.  Then  the  Earl  of  Bothwell 
was  sent  to  capture  him,  and  the  martyr  was  se- 
cured and  lodged  in  the  fatal  sea-tower  at  St. 
Andrew's,  an  ancient  seaport  forty  miles  north- 
east from  Edinburgh.  The  victim  was  at  last  in 
hand.  The  ceremonies  of  trial  were  soon,  des- 
patched, and  the  regent  was  requested  to  finish  up 
the  work.  He  being  induced  to  hesitate,  Beaton 
attended  to  it  himself.  A  "pile  and  a  gallows 
were  prepared  under  the  windows  of  the  castle," 
"svhere  the  cardinal  might  feast  his  eyes  on  the  wel- 
come spectacle.  Wishart  was  then  led  to  the  stake, 
his  hands  bound  behind  his  back,  a  rope  about  his 
neck,  a  chain  about  his  waist  and  bags  of  gunpow- 
der fastened  to  various  parts  of  his  body.  Lest  a 
rescue  should  be  attempted,  the  cannon  of  the  castle 
were  loaded  and  trained  upon  the  spot  of  execution. 
At  the  stake,  Wishart  kneeled  down  and  prayed, 
saying,  three  times,  "O  thou  Saviour  of  the  world, 


THE  CONFLICT.  211 

have  mercy  on  me!  Father  of  heaven,  I  commend 
my  spirit  into  thy  holy  hands."  Plis  executioner 
asking  his  pardon,  he  kissed  him,  saying,  "  Lo, 
here  is  a  token  that  I  forgive  thee :  my  heart,  do 
thine  office."  The  trumpet  sounded,  the  match 
was  applied,  the  gunpowder  exploded,  and  yet  the 
victim  lived.  ^'  This  fire,"  said  he,  "  torments  my 
body,  but  no  way  abates  my  spirit."  Then  looking 
up  to  the  cardinal,  the  spirit  of  prophecy  came 
upon  him,  and  he  said,  "  He  who  in  such  state 
feeds  upon  my  torments  within  a  few  days  shall  be 
hanged  out  at  the  same  window,  to  be  seen  with  as 
much  ignominy  as  he  now  leaneth  there  in  pride;" 
and  soon  after  he  joined  the  general  assembly  on 
high. 

But  while  one  may  succeed  in  damming  up  a 
stream  for  a  time,  the  ever-gathering  waters  will 
at  length  assert  their  mastery  over  man  and  sweep 
obstructors  and  obstructions  together  away.  And 
the  stream  that  Beaton  was  hindering  flowed  out 
from  the  eternal  decrees  of  God.  Hence  his  every 
victory  was  a  defeat,  his  every  victim  a  victor. 
A  profound  indignation  was  stirred  by  the  murder 
of  Wishart,  and  the  chill  of  its  shadows  set  Bea- 
ton at  work  upon  the  fortifications  of  his  castle. 
But  what  cares  destiny  for  mortared  piles ! 


212  JENNY  GEDDES. 

The  night  of  the  28th  of  May,  Beaton  spent 
with  his  mistress,  and  as  she  left  one  gate  in  the 
morning  the  workmen  entered  at  another,  and  with 
them  five  or  six  men,  who,  sauntering  to  the  por- 
ter's lodge,  inquired  for  Beaton.  One  of  these  was 
William  Kirkaldy,  of  Grange,  and  with  him  Peter 
Carmichael,  James  Melville,  John  Lesley,  brother 
to  the  Earl  of  Bothes,  and  Norman  Lesley,  son  of 
the  same.  Making  their  way  to  the  cardinal's 
apartment  they  found  the  doors  closed  and  barri- 
caded within. 

''  Open  the  door !"  rang  through  the  halls. 

"Who  calls f  asked  the  cardinal.  "Will  you 
spare  my  life,  if  I  open  the  door  ?" 

"  Perhaps." 

"Nay,  swear  that  you  will  —  swear  by  God's 
wounds." 

"That  which  was  said  is  unsaid." 

Fire  was  now  procured,  and  at  the  crackling 
of  the  flames  and  intrusion  of  the  smoke  a  boy 
within  opened  the  door,  and  in  stalked  the  aveng- 
ers. The  wretch  sank  back  in  his  chair,  ex- 
claiming: 

"I  am  a  priest — I  am  a  priest:  ye  will  not 
slay  me?" 

Lesley  and  Carmichael  then  each  stabbed  him. 


THE  CONFLICT.  213 

But  Melville,  now  coming  forward,  and  pushing 
the  others  aside,  said  : 

"  This  work  and  judgment  of  God,  although  it 
be  secret,  yet  ought  to  be  done  with  greater 
gravity." 

Then,  putting  his  sword  to  Beaton's  throat,  he 
said: 

^•'  Kepent  thee  of  thy  wicked  life,  but  especially 
of  the  shedding  of  the  blood  of  that  instrument 
of  God,  Mr.  George  Wishart,  which,  albeit  the 
flames  of  fire  consumed  before  men,  yet  cries  it 
with  a  vengeance  upon  thee,  and  we  from  God 
are  sent  to  revenge  it.  I  protest  that  neither 
hatred  of  thy  person,  nor  love  of  thy  riches,  nor 
fear  of  any  trouble  thou  couldst  have  done  me 
in  particular,  moved  or  move  me  to  strike  thee, 
but  only  because  thou  hast  been  and  remainest 
an  obstinate  enemy  to  Christ  Jesus  and  his  Holy 
Evangel."  He  then  thrust  him  through,  the 
wretched  man  exclaiming,  "I  am  a  priest — I  am 
a  priest !     Fie,  fie  ! — all  is  gone  I" 

They  then  carried  his  body  to  the  same  window 
whence  he  had  gazed  upon  the  burning  Wishart, 
and  hung  it  out  before  the  gaze  of  the  crowd  below. 

Thus  was  the  earth  rid  of  one  of  the  multitude 
of  treacherous,    malicious,  grossly  licentious   and 


214  JENNY   GEDDES. 

mercilessly  cruel  ecclesiastics  with  which  Roman- 
ism has  cursed  it. 

Soon  after,  a  party  of  gentlemen  who  favoured 
the  Reformation  took  possession  of  the  castle  and 
resisted  a  siege  conducted  by  the  regent,  and  com- 
pelled the  besiegers  to  make  terms  with  them. 
About  the  beginning  of  April  JoPiN  Knox  en- 
tered the  castle. 

fTOHN  KXOX, 

Carlyle,  in  his  own  way,  speaks  much  truth 
respecting  great  men,  in  his  discourse  of  their 
'^  manner  of  appearance  in  our  world's  business — 
how  they  have  shaped  themselves  in  the  w^orld's 
history,  what  ideas  men  formed  of  them,  what 
work  they  did.  For,  as  I  take  it,  universal  his- 
tory— the  history  of  what  man  has  accomplished 
in  this  world — is,  at  the  bottom,  the  history  of 
great  men  who  have  worked  here.  They  were 
the  leaders  of  men,  these  great  ones ;  the  model- 
lers, patterns,  and,  in  a  wide  sense,  creators,  of 
whatsoever  the  general  mass  of  men  contrived  to 
do  or  attain."  Machlavelli  has  said  that  the 
world  is  made  up  of  three  orders  of  men — those 
who  perceive  with  their  own  powers,  those  who 
perceive  when  matters  are  explained  to  them,  and 
those  who  do  not  perceive  at  all.     The  first  of 


THE  CONFLICT.  215 

these  are  the  truly  great  men.  They  are,  as  it 
were,  the  concentration  of  the  times  in  which  they 
live.  Certain  great  principles  are  at  work  in  the 
general  mind,  waiting  to  be  embodied  in  a  creed, 
or  in  a  maxim,  or  in  a  trumpet-call  to  action. 
That  something  is  at  work,  that  something  needs 
to  be  done,  all  know,  but  just  what,  none  can  say. 
But  here  or  there  is  a  man  endowed  with  certain 
gifts  and  with  certain  susceptibilities,  on  whom, 
as  on  a  delicately-strung  harp,  these  principles 
play  and  strike  out  the  tune  of  the  hour;  and, 
when  once  the  key-note  is  given,  the  multitudes 
recognize  it  as  just  what  they  have  been  waiting 
for,  and  at  once  join  in  responsive  chorus.  Thus 
great  men  are  the  heart  and  become  the  mouth 
of  the  age.  And  the  natural  and  intense  admira- 
tion of  men  for  genius  and  bravery  greatly  in- 
crease at  once  the  power  and  responsibility  of 
these  great  leaders  of  their  kind.  The  Creator 
endows  these  men  with  their  gifts,  and,  when  he 
will,  he  leaves  them  largely  to  the  counsel  of  their 
own  will  to  determine  the  side  they  will  take  in 
the  great  war  between  right  and  wrong ;  and  here 
we  have  Beatons,  Loyolas  and  Alvas,  and  there  a 
Cromwell,  a  AVilliam  the  Silent,  a  Washington. 
And,  when    he   will,   he  at  once  creutes,   endows 


216  JENNY  GEDDES. 

and  appoints  these  leaders  to  office  among  men; 
and  then  we  have  here  a  Moses  or  a  David,  and 
there  a  Luther  and  a  Knox.  Knox  was  at  once 
a  child  and  father  of  the  Reformation  in  Scotland. 
Richly  endowed  with  mental  power  and  with  keen 
insight  both  of  men  and  of  the  nature  of  the  ser- 
vice to  which  God  was  then  calling  him  and  his 
country,  he  was  a  true  son  of  Issachar,  with  un- 
derstanding of  the  times  to  know  what  Israel 
ought  to  do.  His  also  was  that  bravery  that 
could  dare  whatever  duty  bade. 

It  was,  we  suppose,  a  happy  circumstance  for 
mankind,  though  the  source  of  many  temporary 
woes  to  Scotland,  that  the  throne  took  the  lead  in 
the  opposition  to  the  Reformation.  Had  it  been 
otherwise,  had  the  crisis  found  the  crown  solicited 
by  inducements  to  rid  itself  of  subjection  to  Rome 
and  to  take  the  whole  of  reform  into  its  own  hands, 
the  result  might  have  been  a  reproduction  in  Scot- 
land of  another  Church  of  England — a  strange 
conglomerate  of  popery  and  protestations,  error 
and  truth,  with  a  "  Calvinistic  creed,  a  Romish 
liturgy  and  an  Arminian  clergy;"  and  Scottish 
Church  history  might  have  told  the  tale  of  other 
Henries  and  Elizabeths. 

But  God  had  ordained  otherwise;  and   as    the 


THE  CONFLICT.  217 

KeforDiation  found  its  chief  enemies  on  and  near 
the  throne,  its  clear-headed,  resolute-hearted  Chris- 
tian leaders  were  compelled  to  subject  the  prerog- 
atives of  royalty  to  a  searching  investigation,  a 
rigid,  manly  scrutiny.  If  the  monarch  was  abso- 
lute by  divine  right,  it  would  be  very  diiSicult  to 
find  any  other  place  for  Christ  within  the  realm 
than  such  as  might  be  assigned  him  by  the  will  of 
the  reigning  king — ^that  king  not  unfrequently  a 
chief  favourite  of  Satan.  But  if  the  kingly  pre- 
rogative was  indeed  hedged  about  by  natural  and 
easily  defined  limitations,  it  behooved  those  who 
contested  this  point  with  royalty  to  find  out  and 
exhibit  those  limitations,  that  all  parties,  seeing 
the  truth,  might  fight  in  its  light,  and  having 
learned,  might  with  good  conscience  and  hearty 
will  assert  and  maintain  their  respective  rights  and 
discharge  their  several  duties. 

These  limits  of  jurisdiction  soon  showed  them- 
selves to  the  eagle  eye  of  Knox.  If  there  ever  was 
a  true  man  among  men  Knox  w^as  he.  Hume,  of 
course,  abuses  him.  Hallam  speaks  of  his  "  san- 
guinary spirit."  Nor  can  any  one  claim  for  him 
a  courtly  delicacy  and  refinement  of  manners  with- 
out making  him  an  exception  to  the  whole  charac- 
ter of  the  age  in  which  he  lived.     Modes  of  con- 


218  JENNY  GEDDES. 

duct  and  styles  of  utterance  had  not  yet  parted 
with  barbaric  rust,  not  yet  learned  the  elegances 
of  the  modern  courtier.  Luther  and  Henry  YIII. 
spoke  of  each  other  in  the  coarsest  terms,  and  the 
latter  dignified  one  woman  whom  he  made  his  wife 
and  the  nation's  queen  Avith  the  elegant  title  of 
"  great  Flemish  mare."  The  indecent  speech  of 
George  Buchanan  to  the  Countess  of  Mar,  who 
caressed  young  King  James  after  a  severe  flogging 
by  the  former,  is  probably  a  fair  specimen  of  the 
colloquial  refinement  of  those  times.  Queen  Eliza- 
beth, as  is  well  known,  could  upon  occasion  give 
vent  to  her  anger  in  true  sailor-like  profanity.  It 
is  hardly,  therefore,  to  be  wondered  at  if  Knox,  a 
son  of  yet  unpolished  Scotland,  should  have  been 
somewhat  less  courtly  in  speech  and  manners  than 
a  modern  princess — should  have  used  at  times  very 
plain  and  emphatic  language,  and  have  called  a 
wicked  and  adulterous  queen  a  "  Jezebel,"  and 
have  said  to  her  that  "  Samuel  feared  not  to  slay 
Agag,  the  fat  and  delicate  king  of  Amalek — nei- 
ther spared  Elias  Jezebel's  false  prophets  and 
Baal's  priests,  though  King  Aliab  was  present. 
Phincas  was  no  magistrate,  yet  feared  not  to  strike 
Cozbi  and  Zimri  in  the  very  act  of  fornication. 
And  so,  madam,  your  grace  may  see  that  others 


THE  CONFLICT.  219 

than  chief  magistrates  may  lawfully  inflict  punish- 
ment on  such  crimes  as  are  condemned  by  the  law 
of  God." 

Yet,  if  he  told  the  truth  in  plain  terms,  he  did 
it  in  a  good  cause;  and  for  the  whole  drift  of  his 
influence  and  character  of  his  service  among  men 
he  merits  the  admiration  and  gratitude  of  mankind. 
Carlyle  writes :  "  This  that  Knox  did  for  this  na- 
tion we  may  really  call  a  resurrection  as  from 
death.  T\\e  i^eople  hegdiU  to  live ;  they  needed  first 
of  all  to  do  that  at  what  cost  and  costs  soever. 
Scotch  literature  and  thought,  Scotch  industry, 
James  Watt,  David  Hume,  Walter  Scott,  Robert 
Burns — I  find  Knox  and  the  Reformation  acting 
in  the  heart's  core  of  every  one  of  these  persons 
and  phenomena. 

"  It  seems  hard  measure  that  this  Scottish  man 
now,  after  three  hundred  years,  should  have  to 
plead  like  a  culprit  before  the  world ;  intrinsically, 
for  having  been  in  such  a  way  as  it  was  then  pos- 
sible to  be  the  bravest  of  all  Scotchmen.  Had 
he  been  a  poor  half-and-half,  he  could  have 
crouched  into  a  corner  like  so  many  others ;  Scot- 
land had  not  been  delivered,  and  Knox  had  been 
without  blame.  He  is  the  one  Scotchman  to 
whom  of  all  others  his  country  and  the  w^orld  owe 


220  JENNY  GEDDES. 

a  debt.  He  has  to  plead  that  Scotland  would 
forgive  him  for  having  been  worth  to  it  any  mil- 
lion *  unblameable'  Scotchmen  that  need  no  for- 
giveness. He  bared  his  breast  to  battle,  had  to 
row  in  French  galleys,  wander  forlorn  in  exile, 
in  clouds  and  storms,  w^as  censured,  shot  at  through 
his  windows,  had  a  right  sore  fighting  life;  if 
this  world  were  his  recompense  he  had  made  but 
a  bad  venture  of  it.  I  cannot  apologize  for  Knox. 
To  him  it  is  very  indifferent,  these  two  hundred 
and  fifty  years  or  more,  what  men  say  of  him. 
But  we,  having  got  above  all  those  details  of  his 
battle  and  living  now  in  clearness  on  the  fruits 
of  his  victory — we,  for  our  own  sakes,  ought  to 
look  through  the  rumours  and  controversies  en- 
veloping the  man  into  the  man  himself,  and  un- 
derstand and   honour  his  real  character. 

*'  This  post  of  prophet  to  his  nation  was  not  of 
his  seeking.  Knox  had  lived  forty  years  quietly 
obscure.  He  was  the  son  of  poor  parents — had 
lived  as  tutor  in  gentlemen's  families,  preaching 
when  any  one  wished  to  hear  his  doctrine — not 
fancying  himself  capable  of  more — when  one  day 
a  small  body  of  Reformers,  besieged  in  St.  An- 
drew's Castle,  the  preacher  said  suddenly,  '  There 
ought   to  be    other   preachers ;    all  men  who  had 


THE  CONFLICT.  221 

a  priest's  heart  and  gift  ought  now  to  speak,  which 
gifts  and  heart  one  of  their  own  number — John 
Knox  the  name  of  him — had/  Poor  Knox  was 
obliged  to  stand  up ;  he  attempted  to  reply,  burst 
into  tears  and  ran  out." 

"  The  school  of  Knox,"  writes  Hallam,  "  if  so 
we  may  call  the  early  Presbyterian  ministers  of 
Scotland,  was  full  of  men  breathing  their  master's 
spirit,  acute  in  disputation,  eloquent  in  discourse, 
learned  beyond  what  their  successors  have  been 
and  intensely  zealous  in  the  cause  of  Reformation. 
Their  system  of  local  and  general  assemblies  in- 
fused, together  with  the  forms  of  a  republic,  its 
energy  and  impatience  of  external  control,  com- 
bined with  the  concentration  and  unity  of  purpose 
that  belongs  to  the  most  vigorous  government." 

Of  this  man  Froude  writes,  in  his  impartial, 
learned  and  elegant  volumes : 

"  John  Knox  became  the  representative  of  all 
that  was  best  in  Scotland.  He  was  no  narrow 
fanatic,  who,  in  a  world  in  which  God's  grace  w^as 
equally  visible  in  a  thousand  creeds,  could  see 
truth  and  goodness  nowhere  but  in  his  own  for- 
mula. He  was  a  large,  noble,  generous  man,  with 
a  shrewd  perception  of  actual  fact,  who  found  him- 
self face  to  face  with  a  system  of  hideous  iniquity. 


222  JENNY  GEDDES. 

He  believed  himself  a  prophet  with  a  direct  com- 
mission from  heaven  to  overthrow  it.'' 

Again  he  writes :  "  Such  was  Knox,  the  great- 
est of  living  Scotchmen.  The  full  measure  of 
Knox's  greatness  no  man  in  his  day  could  estimate. 
It  is  as  we  look  back  over  that  stormy  time  and 
weigh  the  actors  in  it  one  against  the  other  that 
he  stands  out  in  his  full  proportions.  No  grander 
figure  can  be  found  in  the  entire  history  of  the 
Keformation  in  this  island.  Cromwell  and  Burgh- 
ley  rank  beside  him  for  the  work  which  they 
effected,  but  as  politicians  and  statesmen  they  had 
to  labour  with  instruments  which  they  soiled  their 
hands  in  touching.  In  priority,  in  uprightness, 
in  courage,  truth  and  stainless  honour,  the  Regent 
Murray  and  our  English  Latimer  were  perhaps 
his  equals ;  but  Murray  was  intellectually  far  be- 
low him,  and  the  sphere  of  Latimer's  influence 
was  on  a  smaller  scale.  The  time  has  come  when 
English  history  may  do  justice  to  one  but  for 
whom  the  Reformation  would  have  been  over- 
thrown among  ourselves;  for  the  spirit  which 
Knox  created  saved  Scotland  ;  and  if  Scotland  had 
been  Catholic  again,  neither  the  wisdom  of  Eliza- 
beth's ministers,  nor  the  teaching  of  her  bishops, 
nor   her   own   chicaneries   w^ould    have   preserved 


THE  CONFLICT.  223 

England  from  revolution.  His  was  the  voice  thai 
taught  the  peasant  of  the  Lothians  that  he  was  a 
free  man,  the  equal  in  the  sight  of  God  with  the 
proudest  peer  or  prelate  that  had  trampled  on  his 
forefathers.  He  was  the  one  antagonist  whom 
Mary  Stuart  could  not  soften  nor  Maitland  de- 
ceive. He  it  was  that  raised  the  poor  commons 
of  his  country  into  a  stern,  rugged  people,  who 
might  be  hard,  narrow,  superstitious  and  fanatical, 
but  who,  nevertheless,  Avere  men  whom  neither 
king,  noble  nor  priest  could  force  to  submit  again 
to  tyranny.  And  his  reward  has  been  the  ingrati- 
tude of  those  who  should  most  have  done  honour 
to  his  memory." 

We  have  seen  that  after  the  slaying  of  Beaton, 
Knox  entered  the  castle  of  St.  Andrew.  His 
preaching  there  adding  fuel  to  the  fires  of  the  Re- 
formation, his  foes  secured  a  French  army,  took 
the  town,  and  in  flagrant  violation  of  treaty  stipu- 
lations, but  in  strict  conformity  with  Romish  mo- 
rality, made  Knox  a  galley-slave.  England  now 
resenting  the  union  between  France  and  Scotland, 
and  the  treachery  of  the  regent,  invaded  the  coun- 
try, conquered  a  peace  and  procured  the  liberation 
of  Knox.  Thus  delivered  from  the  hands  of  his 
persecutors,  he  went  first  to  England  and  then  to 


224  JENNY  GEDDES. 

the  Continent,  and  remained  mostly  at  Geneva  until 
the  year  1555. 

In  1554  Arran  was  succeeded  in  the  regency  by 
a  French  woman,  Mary  of  Lorraine,  daughter  of 
the  Duke  of  Guise,  widow  of  Henry  V.  of  Scot- 
land, and  mother  of  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots.  This 
woman  was  "at  once  fearless  and  cunning,"  and 
the  "  fatal  link  that  bound  Scotland  to  France  and 
the  i^apacy.'' 

In  1555  Knox  returned  to  Scotland  and  set  out 
on  a  preaching  tour  through  the  reahn,  everywhere 
throwing  firebrands  into  the  stubble-heaps  of  with- 
ering Romanism.  Bent  on  staying  the  conflagra- 
tion, the  priesthood  summoned  Knox  to  appear 
before  them  at  Blackfriar's  Church,  Edinburgh. 
He  obeyed  the  summons,  accompanied  by  several 
gentlemen,  and  at  his  appearance  the  court  dis- 
solved. Knox  then  preached  openly  and  power- 
fully in  the  city,  and  soon  after  yielded  to  the 
solicitations  of  his  former  flock  at  Geneva  and 
returned  to  them  for  a  season.  As  soon  as  he  was 
known  to  be  beyond  reach,  the  summons  was  re- 
peated, and  Knox  not  appearing  was  burnt  in 
effigy  by  his  heroic  persecutors. 

Mary  of  Guise,  the  queen-regent,  now  tried  her 
hand  in  quelling  the  Keformation,  and  summoned 


THE  CONFLICT.  225 

the  Protestant  preachers  before  the  council  on  the 
old  charge  of  stirring  up  sedition — for  Avith  despot- 
ism, civil  and  ecclesiastical,  it  is  always  seditious  to 
speak  and  act  as  a  freeman.  But  such  crowds  ac- 
companied the  ministers  to  the  place  of  trial  that, 
like  the  witch  of  Endor,  the  queen-regent  found 
that  she  had  evoked  an  apparition  in  whose  pres- 
ence her  cheek  turned  pale  and  her  nerves  were 
paralyzed.  To  allay  this  apparition  a  proclama- 
tion was  issued  remanding  the  crowds  to  the  bor- 
ders ;  but  instead  of  obeying  the  proclamation  the 
people  pushed  their  way  boldly,  perhaps  rudely, 
into  the  very  council-chamber  where  the  queen  sat 
surrounded  by  her  bishops ;  and  Chalmers  of  Gad- 
girth,  speaking  for  the  rest,  said,  "  Madam,  we 
know  that  this  proclamation  is  a  device  of  the 
bishops  and  of  that  bastard  (the  primate  of  St. 
Andrew's)  that  stands  beside  you.  We  avow  to 
God  that  ere  we  yield  we  will  make  a  day  of  it. 
These  idle  drones  oppress  us  and  our  tenants ;  they 
trouble  our  preachers  and  would  murder  them  and 
us.  Shall  we  suffer  this  any  longer  ?  jS^o,  madam, 
it  shall  not  be !''  And  at  once  every  man  put  on 
his  steel  bonnet,  when  i)ersecution  apologized  with 
a  falsehood,  and  the  heroic  men  went  home  in 
triumph. 

15 


226  JENNY  GEDBES. 

ORGANIZATIOJV. 

Principles  can  act  with  their  legitimate  concen- 
trated force  only  through  organized  forms ;  and  as 
royalty  and  Romanism  were  organized  and  armed, 
it  behooved  the  Reformation  no  longer  to  trust  to 
desultory  impulse  and  individual  action,  but  to 
consolidate  its  forces  and  construct  an  organism 
through  which  it  might  speak  and  act  with  efficien- 
cy and  power. 

The  first  formal  step  in  this  direction  was  taken 
December  3, 1557.  The  country  seething  with  ex- 
citement, Knox  in  exile,  the  foe  burning  with  the 
spirit  of  persecution  and  revenge,  it  became  evident 
to  the  dullest  apprehension  that  unless  something 
was  done,  and  that  promptly,  nothing  would  re- 
main but  submission  and  annihilation.  Accord- 
ingly, the  Protestant  lords  and  gentry  assembled  at 
Edinburgh.  The  spirit  that  animated  these  men 
may  be  gathered  from  the  speech  cited  above  of 
Chalmers  of  Gadgirth  and  the  conduct  of  his  steel- 
bonneted  companions.  And,  being  assembled,  re- 
solved to  defend  their  principles  at  ^'what  cost 
or  costs  soever,'^  they  formed  and  subscribed  this 
bond : 

"  We,  perceiving  how  Satan,  in  his  members,  the 
anti-Christs  of  our  time,  cruelly  doth  rage,  seeking 


THE  CONFLICT.  227 

to  downthrow  and  destroy  the  evangel  of  Christ 
and  his  congregation,  ought,  according  to  our  boun- 
den  duty,  to  strive  in  our  Master's  cause  even  unto 
death,  being  certain  of  victory  in  him — the  which, 
our  duty  being  well  considered,  we  do  promise  be- 
fore the  majesty  of  God  and  his  congregation  that 
we,  by  his  grace,  shall  with  all  diligence  continu- 
ally apply  our  whole  power,  substance  and  our 
very  lives,  to  maintain,  set  forward  and  establish 
the  most  blessed  word  of  God  and  his  congrega- 
tion, and  shall  labour  at  our  possibility  to  have 
faithful  ministers  purely  and  truly  to  minister 
Christ's  evangel  and  sacraments  to  his  people. 
We  shall  maintain  them,  nourish  them  and  defend 
them,  the  whole  congregation  of  Christ  and  every 
member  thereof,  at  our  w^hole  power,  and  wairing 
(expending)  of  our  lives  against  Satan  and  all 
wicked  power  that  does  intend  tyranny  and  trou- 
ble against  the  aforesaid  congregation.  Unto  the 
which  holy  word  and  congregation  w^e  do  join  uS; 
and  also  do  renounce  and  forsake  the  congregation 
of  Satan,  with  all  the  superstitious  abominations 
and  idolatry  thereof;  and  moreover  shall  declare 
ourselves  manifestly  enemies  thereto  by  this  our 
faithful  promise  before  God,  testified  to  his  congre- 
gation by  our  subscription  at  these  presents.     At 


228  JENNY  GEDDES. 

Edinburgh,  the  third  day  of  December,  1557  years. 
God  called  to  witness/^ 

In  reading  this  document  we  find  that  the  princi- 
ples, thoughts,  and  even  forms  of  expression,  in  our 
celebrated  Declaration  of  Independence  are  not  so 
thoroughly  original  as  we  have  fancied.  Scotch 
Presbyterianism  anticipated  Jefferson  more  than 
two  hundred  years. 

This  declaration  and  bond  was  signed  by  the 
earls  of  Argyle,  Glencairn  and  Morton,  Archibald 
lord  of  Lorn,  John  Erskine  of  Dern,  and  a  great 
number  of  other  distinguished  men,  who  thence- 
forth were  called  lokds  of  the  con^geegation. 

This  step  toward  organization  was  known  as 
'^The  First  CovEjsrANT.'^ 

The  Romish  protest  against  the  covenant  took 
the  usual  form — martyrdom.  The  victim  was  an 
aged  priest  named  Walter  Mill,  on  whom  Beaton 
the  cardinal  had  in  former  days  sought  to  lay  his 
bloody  hands.  Discovered  now  by  a  spy,  he  was 
brought  to  St.  Andrew's;  and  though  he  defended 
his  course  with  marked  ability,  he  was  condemned 
to  the  stake.  But  no  one  could  be  found  to  act  as 
executioner  of  the  old  man,  and  the  archbishop 
was  compelled  to  emj)loy  one  of  liis  own  domestics. 
From  the  midst  of  the  flames  the  aged  martyr  said, 


THE  CONFLICT.  229 

"As  for  me,  I  am  fourscore  and  two  years  old, 
and  cannot  live  long  by  course  of  nature;  but  a 
hundred  better  shall  arise  out  of  the  ashes  of  my 
bones.  I  trust  in  God  I  shall  be  the  last  that  shall 
suifer  death  in  Scotland  for  this  cause." 

It  was  now  the  turn  of  the  Covenanters  to  speak, 
and  while  the  people  of  St.  Andrew's  raised  a  great 
pile  of  stones  upon  the  spot  hallowed  by  the  death 
of  Mill,  the  lords  of  the  congregation  complained 
to  the  queen-regent  of  the  conduct  of  the  bishops, 
and  the  preachers  blew  the  gospel  trumpet  till  its 
sounds  reverberated  from  all  the  hills  over  all  the 
plains. 

THE  ArrARITIOX. 

Mary  of  Guise  was  now  deep  in  a  scheme  for 
the  overthrow  of  the  Reformation ;  and  her  pro- 
gramme, to  the  writing  of  which  she  was  helped  by 
the  skill  and  cunning  of  all  papal  Europe,  em- 
braced the  following  items :  a  league  between  Scot- 
land, France  and  Spain;  the  settling  of  the  Scottish 
crown  upon  a  child  of  the  papacy,  Francis,  the 
dauphin  of  France  and  husband  of  Mary,  "  Queen 
of  Scots  ;"  the  invasion  of  England ;  the  dethrone- 
ment of  Elizabeth  and  the  transfer  of  her  crown 
to  some  popish  head.  By  consummate  skill  and 
duplicity,  concealing  on  the  one  hand  and   reveal- 


230  JEXNY  GEDDES. 

ing  on  the  other  what  would  further  her  scheme, 
she  succeeded  in  inducing  the  too  unwary  lords  of 
the  congregation  to  consent  to  the  union  of  the 
crowns  of  Scotland  and  France. 

But  an  essential  part  of  the  plan  was  full  pos- 
session of  Scotland,  and  to  the  completion  of  this 
work  she  now  addressed  her  energies.  By  procla- 
mation she  had  forbidden  any  person  to  preach  or 
administer  the  sacraments  without  authority  from 
her  bishops,  and  a  secret  treaty  existed  between  her 
and  her  clergy,  by  which  they  had  engaged  to  raise 
a  large  sum  of  money  to  enable  her  to  raise  and 
maintain  the  military  forces  needed  for  her  pur- 
poses. With  an  army  now  in  hand  she  entered 
upon  her  work.  Paul  Matthew,  John  Christison, 
William  Harlow  and  John  Willock  were  cited  to 
stand  trial  before  the  Justiciary  Court  at  Stir- 
ling on  the  10th  of  May,  1559,  for  disregarding 
her  proclamation,  teaching  heresy  and  exciting 
sedition. 

To  a  deputation  of  Protestants,  remonstrating 
against  such  violence,  she  answered : 

"Maugre  their  hearts  and  all  that  would  take 
part  with  them,  these  ministers  shall  be  banished 
Scotland,  though  they  preached  as  soundly  as  ever 
St.  Paul  did." 


THE  CONFLICT.  231 

They  reminded  her  of  her  pledge,  to  which  she 
answered : 

'*  It  becomes  not  subjects  to  burden  their  princes 
"with  their  promises  farther  than  they  pleased  to 
keep  them." 

But  the  time  had  gone  by  when  Scotchmen 
could  brook,  even  in  princes,  a  morality  so  shame- 
less or  despotism  so  insolent;  and  they  replied 
that  if  she  violated  her  engagements  they  should 
consider  themselves  absolved  from  their  oath  of 
allegiance. 

The  Protestant  nobility  now  resolved  to  stand 
by  their  ministers  at  the  approaching  trial,  and 
assembled  in  large  numbers  at  Perth,  thence  to 
proceed  in  a  body  to  Stirling.  But  as  wise  as 
they  were  resolute,  they  first  sent  a  deputation  to 
Stirling,  declaring  that  their  aims  were  peaceful, 
their  only  purpose  being  to  attend  with  their 
preachers,  to  join  with  them  in  a  confession  of 
their  faith.  Upon  this  the  wily  woman  succeeded 
in  persuading  them  to  remain  at  Perth,  promising 
them  that  the  trial  should  not  go  on.  It  seemed 
hard  to  distrust  a  pledge  so  fairly  given,  and  some, 
confiding  in  the  word  of  a  woman  who  never  kept 
it  when  treachery  was  more  convenient,  withdrew 
to  their  homes. 


232  JENNY  GEDDES. 

Smiling  in  lier  sleeve  at  their  credulity,  she 
hastened  on  the  preparations  for  the  trial  and 
further  adjusted  her  schemes  of  oppression.  But, 
just  when  all  was  ready,  a  huge,  terrible  shadow 
fell  upon  the  Stirling  conclave.  Knox  had  re- 
turned from  exile — had  landed  at  Leith — had  en- 
tered Edinburgh — had  hurried  to  Dundee — had 
gone  to  Perth,  and  was  now  waiting  there  with 
those  who  had  remained  to  attend  the  trial  at 
Stirling!  Elijah  had  shown  himself  to  Ahab  in 
the  vineyard  of  Naboth  the  Jezreelite.  And  Mary, 
the  Jezebel  of  the  hour,  exclaimed,  ^^  God  do  so 
to  me,  and  more  also,  if  I  make  him  not  food  for 
the  flames !''  She  proclaimed  him  an  outlaw  and 
a  rebel.  The  trial  went  on  and  the  ministers 
were  outlawed  for  non-appearance.  Erskine  of 
Dun  stole  away  from  Stirling  and  hastened  to 
Perth  with  word  of  the  woman's  perfidy.  Knox 
was  there  preaching  with  marvellous  power. 

A  riot  at  Perth  furnished  what  little  excuse 
the  regent  cared  for  to  advance  on  Perth  with 
fire  and  sword.  The  Reformers,  however,  sent 
messengers  abroad  announcing  their  peril,  and 
such  hosts  responded — the  Earl  of  Glencairn  alone 
bringing  twenty-five  hundred  men  —  that  Mary 
was    constrained   to    ply    her    valuable    promises 


THE  CONFLICT.  233 

rather  than  force.  An  agreement  was  concluded 
by  which  the  town  was  to  be  left  open  to  her, 
the  people  left  unquestioned  as  to  the  past,  the 
French  army  forbidden  to  enter,  and  on  her  with- 
drawal no  garrison  to  be  left  behind — nearly  every 
point  of  which  agreement  the  miserable  woman 
of  course  violated. 

Before  withdrawing  from  Perth,  however,  the 
LORDS  OF  THE  coxGEEGATioN  formed  another 
bond,  pledging  themselves  to  mutual  support  and 
defence  in  the  cause  of  religion,  or  any  cause  de- 
pendent thereupon  by  whatsoever  pretext  it  might 
be  coloured  and  concealed.  This  bond  was  sub- 
scribed, in  the  name  of  the  whole  Church,  by  the 
chiefs  of  the  Protestant  nobility.  This  was  "  The 
Second  Covenant." 

REPUBLICANISM. 

Once  certify  man,  from  the  pages  of  God's 
word,  that  he,  together  wath  all  his  human  breth- 
ren, is  created  in  the  image  of  his  God,  and  if 
occasion  arise  he  will  shrewdly  question  the  claim 
of  any  other  man  to  absolute  dominion  over  him. 
Show  him  that  king  and  peasant  stand  on  the  same 
level  before  God  as  sinners,  but  one  set  of  terms 
of  peace  with   the   gi-eat  King   and   one   heaven 


234  JENNY  GEDDES. 

open  before  all;  and,  especially  if  he  be  a  Chris- 
tian, he  will  rigorously  question  the  fancied  birth- 
right prerogatives  of  a  bad  monarch  to  lord  it 
absolutely  over  him  and  his.  If  an  Oriental  rabble 
may  submissively  fill  the  place  of  "dumb-driven 
cattle/^  a  people  whose  minds  have  been  enlight- 
ened and  whose  intellects  have  been  enlarged  and 
quickened  by  the  mighty  truths  of  revelation  will 
not  be  long  in  finding  their  way  to  the  foundation 
laws  of  human  freedom,  civil  and  religious.  And, 
especially  if  driven  by  tyranny  to  probe  this  mat- 
ter to  the  bottom,  they  will  ascertain  that  if  legiti- 
mate civil  government  is  an  ordinance  of  God  the 
legitimacy  of  the  government  in  a  given  case  is 
to  be  determined  by  the  people.  And  this  is  re- 
publicanism. 

At  this  time,  in  Scotland,  Mary  of  Guise  occu- 
pied the  throne,  and  stood  before  the  people  as 
the  embodiment  of  legitimate  governmental  pre- 
rogative ;  and  had  she  designed  to  put  the  people 
to  school  and  indoctrinate  them  in  their  rights  and 
in  the  true  limits  of  the  royal  prerogative,  she 
could  have  taken  no  more  promising  course  than 
that  which  she  actually  pursued. 

No  sooner  did  she  obtain  possession  of  Perth 
than    she   considered    her   engagements   with   the 


THE  CONFLICT.  235 

coiigTegation  null  and  void,  and  at  once  proceeded 
to  punish  those  who  favoured  the  Reforma- 
tion. Argyle  and  Lord  James  Stewart,  having 
remonstrated  against  her  perfidy,  and  having 
been  rudely  repelled  with  this  characteristic  re- 
ply :  "  I  am  not  bound  to  keep  promises  made  to 
heretics,  and  I  will  make  little  conscience  to  take 
from  all  that  sect  their  lives  and  inheritances,  if  I 
may  do  it  with  so  honest  an  excuse,"  they  for- 
sook her  and  joined  the  Lords  of  the  Congregation. 

These  lords  now  took  matters  into  their  own 
hands  and  formally  invited  Knox  to  come  and 
preach  in  the  Abbey  Church  of  St.  Andrew's. 
Knox,  of  course,  did  not  hesitate,  and  the  arch- 
bishop hurried  thither  with  an  armed  force  and 
threatened  to  answer  the  arguments  of  Knox  with 
powder  and  ball,  while  the  queen-regent  followed 
him  with  her  French  army.  The  lords,  appreci- 
ating the  magnitude  of  the  danger  and  unwilling 
to  lose  another  Wishart  and  a  much  greater  than 
he,  put  the  question  to  Knox: 

^^  Will  you  abide  with  us  and  take  the  risk?" 

He  answered  like  himself: 

"  In  this  town  I  was  first  called  to  preach  the 
gospel ;  do  not  hinder  me  from  preaching  here 
again.     As  for  the  fear  of  danger  that  may  come 


236  JENNY   GEDDES. 

unto  me  let  no  man  be  solicitous,  for  my  life  is  in 
the  custody  of  Him  whose  glory  I  seek.  I  desire 
the  hand  and  weapon  of  no  man  to  defend  me.  I 
only  crave  audience,  which  if  it  be  denied  here 
unto  me  at  this  time,  I  must  seek  further  where  I 
may  have  it." 

Heroism  like  cowardice  is  contagious,  and  the 
lords  caught  the  spirit  of  the  prophet ;  and  the  next 
day,  with  the  armies  of  the  regent  thundering  on 
in  the  distance,  Knox  preached  to  a  great  company 
of  his  friends  and  to  "  Agrippa,  Bernice,  chief  cap- 
tains and  principal  men  in  the  city,"  to  the  arch- 
bishop himself  and  many  with  him,  who  murdered 
the  preacher  in  their  hearts  while  they  listened 
with  their  ears — preached  to  them  of  Jesus  over- 
turning the  tables  of  the  money-changers  w^ho  had 
made  God's  temple  a  den  of  thieves.  And  for 
three  days  he  thus  preached,  until  the  people,  being 
"mightily  convinced,"  tumbled  pictures  and  images 
out  of  the  church  windows  and  tore  down  the  mon- 
asteries. Popery  had  resorted  to  violence  to  crush 
the  reformers,  and  now  popery  was  forced  to  taste 
its  own  medicine.  But  the  dose  w^as  not  pleasant 
to  the  taste.  The  archbishop  flew  to  the  regent, 
and  she  with  her  troops  prepared  to  fly  upon  the 
reformers.      But  they  were  soon  ready,  and  this 


THE  CONFLICT.  237 

Jezebel  was  compelled  to  make  "  I  dare  not'^  wait 
upon  "I  would."  Terms  were  made  between  the 
parties,  but  knowing  the  perfidy  of  this  woman, 
the  Protestant  army  took  Perth  and  expelled  the 
regent's  garrison,  and  then  Stirling  and  then  Ed- 
inburgh. The  reforming  spirit  spread,  and  in  a 
few  days  large  portions  of  the  realm  turned  popery 
out  of  doors  and  set  up  a  pure  worship. 

Matters  thus  wore  on  until  the  perfidies  of  the 
regent  having  exhausted  the  patience  of  the  Pro- 
testant lords,  the  latter  resolved  on  measures  more 
firmly  decisive.  On  the  21st  of  October,  1559, 
they  assembled  at  Edinburgh  in  such  numbers  as 
to  constitute  a  convention  of  the  estates  of  the 
realm,  and  with  ungloved  hands  laid  hold  of  the 
Gordian  knot  either  to  untie  or  cut  it.  While  mat- 
ters were  under  discussion,  Knox  and  Willock  were 
invited  to  state  their  views  upon  the  duty  of  sub- 
jects to  oppressive  rulers.  Willock  said  that  the 
2:)0wer  of  rulers  ivas  limitedj  both  by  reason  and 
Scripture,  and  that  they  might  be  deprived  of  it  upon 
valid  grounds.  Knox  assented  to  these  views,  and 
added  that  the  assembly  might  with  safe  con- 
sciences act  upon  it  if  they  attended  to  these  three 
points :  first,  that  they  did  not  suffer  the  miscon- 
duct of  the  queen-regent  to  alienate  their  affections 


238  JENNY  GEDDES. 

from  their  due  allegiance  to  their  sovereigns,  Fran- 
cis and  Mary;  second,  that  they  were  not  actuated 
in  the  measure  by  private  hatred  or  envy  of  the 
queen-dowager,  but  by  regard  to  the  safety  of  the 
commonwealth  ;  and  third,  that  any  sentence  they 
might  now  pronounce  should  not  preclude  her  re- 
admission  to  office  if  she  discovered  sorrow  for  her 
conduct  and  a  disposition  to  submit  to  the  advice  of 
the  estates  of  the  realm. 

After  this  the  whole  assembly,  having  severally 
delivered  their  opinions,  did  by  a  solemn  deed  sus- 
pend the  queen-dowager  from  her  authority  as  regent 
of  the  kingdom  until  the  meeting  of  a  free  parlia- 
ment, and  at  the  same  time  elected  a  council  for 
the  management  of  public  affairs  during  the  in- 
terval. 

Thus  Carlyle  was  not  speaking  at  random  when 
he  said  that  under  the  influence  of  Knox  and  his 
coadjutors  i\\Q  people  began  to  live.  Already,  under 
the  influence  of  the  Reformation,  it  was  rapidly 
making  its  way  into  the  consciousness  of  the  world 
that  Christ  had  been  given  as  "leader  and  com- 
mander to  the  peopleJ^  In  England  the  national 
authorities  patched  up  a  sort  of  Reformation  for 
the  people — in  every  other  land  the  people  took  the 
work  legitimately  into  their  own  hands.     In  more 


THE  CONFLICT.  239 

ancient  times,  when  the  question  came  up  as  to  a 
temporary  alteration  of  the  law  which  required  the 
passover  to  be  celebrated  on  the  fourteenth  day  of 
tlie  first  month,  King  Hezekiah  submitted  it  to 
the  "princes  and  all  the  congregation  in  Jerusa- 
lem/' and  they  decided  to  hold  the  feast  on  the 
fourteenth  day  of  the  second  month  (2  Chron.  xxx. 
1-3,  22,  23).  So  in  this  case  the  people,  by  their 
rei^resentatives,  took  counsel  and  suspended  the 
reigning  monarch  from  her  functions  until  she 
should  be  willing  to  take  counsel  with  them  on 
matters  affecting  the  weal  of  the  nation. 

In  these  principles  and  acts  of  1559  those  of 
American  republicanism  were  anticipated.  Our 
forefatliers,  after  long  and  patient  endurance  and 
weary  and  vain  petitioning,  solemnly  suspended 
King  George  from  his  dominion,  and  themselves 
constructed  a  government  according  to  the  council 
of  their  own  will. 

These  were  the  principles  working  like  a  mighty 
leaven  in  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and,  in  the  words 
of  Hetherington,  "let  it  ever  be  most  gratefully 
remembered  that  to  the  Keformation" — and  he 
might  have  added  to  the  essential  principles  of 
Presbyterian  ism — "  we  owe  that  true  civilization 
which  not  only  strikes  off  the  fetters  from  the  body 


240  JENNY  GEDDES. 

but  cLiltivates  also  the  mind,  which  not  only  libe- 
rates men  from  civil,  mental  and  moral  thraldom, 
but  also,  elevating  them  in  the  scale  of  existence, 
renders  them  worthy  to  be  free.  The  mind  of 
Knox  was  too  deeply  imbued  with  these  great 
principles  and  his  heart  too  fearless  for  him  to 
hesitate  in  giving  a  frank  avowal  of  his  sentiments, 
be  the  danger  and  the  obloquy  thereby  to  be  en- 
countered what  they  might.'^ 

THE  GEXERAIj  assembly. 

Organizing  forces  had  long  been  at  work  and 
were  now  rajndly  maturing  the  fruit.  The  Church 
of  Christ  is  one  body,  a  living  body,  and  the  in- 
dwelling life  in  that  body  tends  with  unbending 
aim  towards  visible  ecclesiastical  union.  These 
forces  had  already  embodied  the  Church  in  par- 
ticular congregations,  with  their  several  colleges  of 
ruling  elders.  The  first  covenant  and  the  second 
had  rallied  these  Presbyterian  forces,  which  were 
now  pressing  forth  toward  more  complete  unifica- 
tion in  one  General  Assembly. 

Tlie  high  republican  act  of  suspending  the 
queen-regent  had  brought  the  congregation  and 
the  government  into  armed  collision,  and  the  latter 
had  appealed  to  Elizabeth  for  aid.     Well  knowing 


THE   CONFLICT.  241 

that  lier  own  cause  was  bound  up  with  that  of  the 
Soottlsli  reformers,  she  reluctantly  relaxed  her  par- 
simonious purse-strings  a  little,  and  at  first  sent 
money  and  afterward  an  army.  The  French 
troops  retired  before  the  English  to  Leith;  and  at 
length  a  treaty  of  peace  was  made  between  France 
and  England,  in  accordance  with  Avhich  the  troops 
of  both  nations  were  to  be  withdrawn  from  Scot- 
land. 

While  these  events  were  taking  place  in  the 
distracted  realm  other  matters  were  enfrrossins: 
the  thoughts  of  the  queen-regent.  The  summons 
had  come  bidding  her  to  the  bar  of  her  God.  It 
is  melancholy  to  see  how  swiftly  the  actors  in  life's 
drama  move  across  the  stage,  and  how  soon  they 
disappear;  melancholy  to  know  how  many  make 
a  record  as  they  pass,  the  perusal  of  which  tor- 
ments them  on  the  bed  of  death.  But  if  the  good 
must  die,  let  us  be  thankful  that  the  wicked  do 
not  live  for  ever. 

On  the  central  hill,  in  many-hilled  Edinburgh, 
stands  the  castle,  covering  some  six  acres  of  ground 
with  its  spacious  esplanade.  From  its  ramparts 
a  magnificent  prospect  greets  the  eye.  "Westward 
stretches  the  level  country  out  from  the  bottom 
of  the  crag.     Eastward  is  Salisbury  Crag  and  Ar- 

16 


242  JENNY  GEDDES. 

tliur's  Seat,  and  on  the  lower  ground,  between 
them,  the  old  quadrangular  palace  of  Holyrood. 
A  splendid  place  to  live  in,  but  the  queen- regent 
was  now  there  to  die. 

"  Shut  up  in  Edinburgh  Castle,"  writes  Froude, 
"  cut  off  from  her  friends  and  half  a  prisoner  under 
the  cold  neutrality  of  Erskine,  the  mother  of  Mary 
Queen  of  Scots  had  sunk  from  day  to  day,  her 
body  swollen  with  dropsy,  the  visible  shadow  of 
death  fast  closing  over  her,  yet,  to  the  last,  going 
through  her  daily  work  with  the  same  cheerful 
resolution,  cool,  clear  and  dauntless,  as  became  a 
daughter  of  the  house  of  Guise. 

"  Her  position  was  forlorn  and  even  tragic — re- 
ligion had  not  many  attractions  for  her — her  con- 
fessor was  an  abandoned  debauchee,  whose  minis- 
trations must  have  been  a  mockery,  and  it  was 
overlate  to  learn  a  new  creed." 

Finding  her  end  approaching,  she  "  sent  for" — 
Hetherington  says,  "  allowed  to  be  sent  to  her" — 
Avrites  Froude,  "John  Willock,  Knox's  colleague 
at  Edinburgh,  and  conversed  with  him  upon  the 
subject  of  religion.  After  this,  she  sent  for  her 
priest,  confessed,  received  extreme  unction  and 
passed  away. 

"  So  ended  Mary  of  Lorraine,  once  Mary  Duch- 


THE  CONFLTCT.  243 

ess  of  Longueville,  the  wittiest,  brightest,  fairest 
ornament  of  the  court  of  Francis  I.,  now  closing 
the  nineteenth  year  of  widowhood  and  exile  in  a 
land  of  strangers."  Her  death  removed  the  great- 
est obstacle  to  the  peace  which  was  now  soon  con- 
cluded. 

On  the  first  day  of  August,  Parliament  as- 
sembled under  the  anxious  eye  of  gazing  Europe. 
Crowds  of  people  flocked  to  Edinburgh  on  the 
great  occasion.  The  demands  of  the  Protestants 
were  singularly  moderate.  They  asked  no  san- 
guinary vengeance  upon  their  adversaries,  as  Rome 
would  have  done  in  like  circumstances,  no  com- 
pulsory laws,  enforcing  an  acceptance  of  the  true 
religion,  no  banishments  from  the  kingdom,  nor 
even  that  the  displaced  ecclesiastics  should  be 
summarily  deprived  of  the  means  of  livelihood, 
but  only  that  the  popish  doctrines  be  discarded, 
purity  of  worship  and  primitive  discipline  be  re- 
stored, and  that  the  ecclesiastical  revenues  be  ap- 
plied to  the  support  of  a  pious,  active  ministry,  the 
promotion  of  learning  and  the  relief  of  the  poor. 
To  these  demands  the  Parliament  responded  by 
abolishing  Romanism,  prohibiting  the  mass  under 
certain  penalties,  leaving,  by  their  silence,  the  ques- 
tion of  discipline  to  the  clergy,  and  by  adopting, 


244  JENNY  GEDDES. 

almost  without  a  dissenting  voice,  the  Confession 
of  Faith.  But  what  of  the  cliurch  revenues  ?  For 
long  years  they  had  been  employed  for  the  support 
of  graceless  ecclesiastics,  who  not  only  left,  but 
strenuously  kept,  the  people  in  ignorance,  while 
by  example  and  precept  they  corrupted  their  mo- 
rality. Why,  then,  should  not  these  revenues  be 
now  put  into  the  hands  of  pure,  godly,  patriotic 
men,  to  be  employed  in  undoing  the  deadly  work 
of  popery  among  the  people  ? 

These  funds  would  have  been  amply  sufficient 
for  the  ends  proposed.  The  papistical  system  was 
abolished,  and  the  Protestants,  though  not  unwill- 
ing that  the  Romish  ecclesiastics,  while  they  lived, 
should  have  adequate  support,  were  quite  unwill- 
ing that  these  men,  now  relieved  of  all  their 
duties,  should  still  enjoy  the  whole  of  their  usual 
income;  and,  as  they  passed  away  by  death,  the 
Protestants  proposed  that  the  rents  of  benefices, 
bishoprics,  cathedral  and  collegiate  churches,  and 
those  arising  from  the  endowments  of  monasteries, 
should  be  appropriated  for  the  support  of  min- 
isters, schools  and  of  the  poor.  But  lordly  avarice 
forbade. 

Among  the  so-called  Protestant  leaders,  at  this 
time,  was  William   Maitland,  of  Lethington — a 


THE  CONFLICT.  245 

name  that  often  recurs  in  this  history.  Able,  am- 
bitious and  unscrupulous,  he  cared  little  for  re- 
ligion in  any  form  and  looked  at  all  questions 
through  purely  secular  eyes.  His  own  spirit  and 
that  of  many  who  acted  with  him  appeared  in  a 
sarcasm  he  uttered  on  hearing  a  sermon  of  Knox  : 
^'  We  may  now  forget  ourselves  and  bear  the  bar- 
row to  build  the  house  of  God.^^  And  the  readi- 
ness of  many  of  the  lords  to  abolish  the  papacy 
was  due  to  their  desire  to  appropriate  its  revenues 
to  their  own  uses.  Accordingly,  the  revenue 
question  was  left  at  this  time  untouched,  but  with 
too  sure  a  presage  that  when  the  hour  for  action 
came  the  interests  of  education  and  religion  would 
weigh  very  lightly  in  the  scales. 

The  Confession  of  Faith  was  prepared  by  six 
Johns — Winram,  Spotswood,  Willock,  Douglas, 
How  and  Knox — and,  with  the  Book  of  Disci- 
pline, *^took  abiding  residence  in  the  mind  and 
heart  of  Scotland,  in  the  deliberate  judgment  and 
conviction  of  its  intellect  and  the  fervent  regard 
of  its  affection.'^ 

Already  a  temporary  arrangement  had  been 
made  for  the  effective  preaching  of  the  gospel 
among  the  people.  The  great  chiefs  were  ap- 
pointed to  preach  in  the  cities,  and  superintendents 


246  JENNY  GEDDES. 

appointed  to  secure  as  large  attention  as  possible 
to  the  wants  of  the  inland  and  remoter  districts. 

Thus,  at  last,  after  all  these  years  of  confusion, 
woe  and  blood,  Presbyterianism  had  conquered 
the  obdurate  papacy  and  hung  its  banners  on  the 
topmost  towers  of  the  realm. 

And  now,  on  the  20th  of  December,  1560,  the 
leading  ministers  and  laymen,  without  leave  asked 
of  human  governments,  met  together  in  Edinburgh 
*'  To  consult  upon  those  things  which  are  to  for- 
ward God's  glory  and  the  weal  of  his  Kirk  in  this 
realme."  And  this  was  the  First  General  As- 
sembly of  the  Church  of  Scotland.  The  truly 
popular  character  of  this  assembly  is  seen  in  the 
fact  that  while  it  numbered  forty  members,  thirty- 
four  of  the  whole  were  laymen.  Parliament  had 
rid  the  land  of  Romanism,  the  Assembly  was  now 
to  organize,  on  its  sole  responsibility  to  the  great 
Head  of  the  Church,  an  ecclesiasticjal  system  for 
the  nation.  To  the  same  men  who  had  drawn  up 
the  Confession  of  Faith  was  now  assigned  the  task 
of  preparing  a  system  of  ecclesiastical  government. 
In  this  work  they  betook  themselves  directly  to 
the  Holy  Scriptures. 

The  result  of  their  labours  was  the  First  Book 
OF  Discipline.     This  book  recognized  four  kinds 


THE  CONFLICT.  247 

of  ordinary  and  permanent  office-bearers  in  the 
Church — the  pastor,  the  teacher,  the  ruling  elder 
and  the  deacon.  The  teacher's  task  was  not  un- 
like that  of  our  theological  professors.  To  meet 
the  pressing  necessities  of  the  hour,  two  other 
officers  of  a  temporary  character  Avere  added — 
superintendents y  who  should  itinerate  and  preach, 
and  inspect  the  conduct  of  the  more  uneducated 
country  ministers,  and  exJiorters  or  Bible-readers — 
humble,  pious  persons,  who  might  instruct  their 
still  humbler  and  less  enlightened  brethren. 

Pastors  were  to  be  regularly  called  by  election, 
examination  and  admission.  To  the  people  be- 
longed the  right  to  elect  their  own  pastor.  The 
minister,  elders  and  deacons  constituted  the  kirk- 
session.  Presbyteries  were  soon  organized,  and 
the  General  Assembly,  composed  of  ministers  and 
ruling  elders,  commissioned  from  different  parts  of 
the  kingdom,  combined  in  itself  the  governing 
powers  of  the  whole  Church.  Judicious  rules  for 
public  worship  on  the  Sabbath  were  embraced  in 
the  system — a  sermon  on  Sabbath  morning  and 
catechizing  in  the  afternoon,  and  in  the  towns  a 
sermon  on  a  week  day  besides.  It  was  also  held 
imperatively  necessary  that  there  be  a  school  in 
every  parish  for  the  instruction  of  youth  in  the 


248  JENNY  GEDDES. 

principles  of  religion,  in  grammar  and  in  the  Latin 
language;  and  it  was  proposed  that  a  college  be 
established  in  every  notable  town. 

Such  was  the  Presbyterian  protest  against  the 
Romish  adage,  that  ignorance  is  the  mother  of  de- 
votion. Such  was  the  scheme  for  elevating  the 
degraded  Scottish  masses  into  the  dignity  and  cha- 
racter of  a  people;  and  to  carry  out  this  noble 
plan  the  revenues  of  the  church  were  needed ;  and 
but  for  the  ignoble  covetousness  of  the  nobles  these 
revenues  would  have  been  obtained,  and  an  early 
and  glorious  salvation  wrought  out  for  Scotland. 
But  some  of  these  nobles  had  already  seized  upon 
portions  of  the  Church  lands  and  were  filling  their 
pockets  with  the  revenues,  and  others  were  casting 
longing  eyes  toward  a  share  in  the  golden  spoils. 
From  this  fountain  flowed  many  a  stream  of  bit- 
terness in  after  years. 

MABY  QUJEEN  OF  SCOTS. 

A  new  chapter  now  opens  before  us  of  this  story 
of  conflict.  Mary,  daughter  of  James  V.  and 
Mary  of  Guise,  was  born  seven  days  before  her 
father's  death.  At  the  age  of  eight  she  was  sent 
to  France,  educated  in  a  convent,  and  in  1558 
married  to  the  dauphin  Francis,  who  died  in  1560, 


THE  CONFLICT.  249 

and  the  following  year  she  returned  to  Scotland  as 
its  queen.     Beautiful  as  ever  woman  could  desire, 
richly  endowed  with    mental  gifts,   finely  accom- 
plished, her  residence  of  thirteen  years  abroad,  part 
of  the  time  in  a  Romish  convent,  but  most  of  it  as 
a  fascinating  creature  in  one  of  the  most  flagitiously 
corrupt  and  licentious   courts    in  the   world,   had 
very  poorly  fitted  her  to  rule  over  Presbyterian 
Scotland.     Foreseeing  the  bearing  on  the  interests 
of  France  of  her  character  and  course  in  the  tur- 
bulent scenes  before  her,  her  relations  in  that  coun- 
try had  spared   no  pains  to  mould  her  spirit  in 
accordance  with  the  most  rigorous  bigotry,  and  to 
thorough  detestation  of  the  Reformation  and  its 
champions.      They  strove  to  fill  her  vision  with 
the  glories  to  be  gained  in  the  work  of  re-shackling 
the  now  liberated  limbs  of  Scotland  with  the  fet- 
ters of  Romanism.     ^N'or  did  they  find  their  pupil 
either  incompetent  or  unwilling.     Right  greedily 
did  she  swallow  all  their  teachings.     And  to  all 
other   motives   for  stifling   the   Reformation    was 
added  the  hope  of  putting  the  English  crown  upon 
her  saintly  brow  and  bringing  erring  England  back 
from  her  wanderings   to  the  true  fold.     For  this 
she  would  need  French  gold  and  French  armies, 
all  which  were  promised  in  lavish  abundance. 


250  JENNY  GEDJDES. 

Scarcely,  therefore,  had  she  set  foot  on  Scottish 
soil  when  she  flung  out  her  colours  before  the  eyes 
of  the  nation.  On  her  first  Sabbath  in  Scotland 
she  set  her  foot  upon  the  act  of  parliament,  and  had 
mass  celebrated  in  Holyrood  house.  Against  this 
the  privy  council  protested,  and  Knox,  with  a 
voice  louder  than  theirs,  in  a  thundering  sermon  at 
St.  Giles,  declared  that  "one  mass  was  more  fearful 
to  him  than  ten  thousand  armed  foes."  It  is  not 
so  difficult  to  conquer  men,  especially  in  a  good 
cause — to  conquer  God  in  a  sinful  one,  who  can 
hope? 

Well  for  Mary  that  Romish  measure  was  not 
dealt  out  to  her.  Well  has  it  been  said  that  had 
Scotland  now  been  in  the  hands  of  Rome,  and 
Mary  a  Huguenot  queen,  persisting  in  the  exercise 
of  her  religion,  she  would  speedily  have  followed 
Hamilton,  Wishart  and  Mill  to  the  stake,  or  have 
been  hurried  out  of  the  realm. 

The  Protestants,  however,  contented  themselves 
with  rigorously  protesting,  and  when  Mary  heard 
of  Knox's  sermon  she  sent  for  him  that  she  might 
set  her  eyes  upon  that  subject  that  dared  to  rebuke 
his  sovereign.  She  was  soon  satisfied  if  not  grati- 
fied with  the  sight.  Wonderful  scene,  that  inter- 
view between  the  stern  prophet  and  the  beautiful 


THE  CONFLICT.  251 

Jezebel!  Curious  contrast,  between  the  emotions 
in  those  two  hearts,  as  they  stood  gazing  into  each 
other's  eyes.  Two  mighty  conflicting  systems  were 
there  face  to  face — Presbyterian  republicanism  and 
despotic  Popery. 

"  Think  you/*  asked  the  queen,  "  that  subjects 
having  the  power  may  resist  their  princes  ?'* 

"If  princes  exceed  their  bounds,  madam,''  he 
replied,  "  no  doubt  they  may  be  resisted,  even  by 
power.  For  no  greater  honour  or  greater  obedi- 
ence is  to  be  given  to  kings  or  princes  than  God 
has  ordained  to  be  given  to  father  or  mother. 
But  the  father  may  be  struck  with  a  frenzy  in 
which  he  would  slay  his  children.  Now,  madam, 
if  the  children  arise,  join  together,  apprehend  the 
father,  take  the  sword  from  him,  bind  his  hands 
and  keep  him  in  prison  till  the  frenzy  be  over, 
think  you,  madam,  that  the  children  do  any 
wrong?  Even  so,  madam,  is  it  with  princes  that 
would  murder  the  children  of  God  that  are  subject 
unto  them.  Their  blind  zeal  is  nothing  but  a  mad 
frenzy;  therefore,  to  take  the  sword  from  them, 
to  hind  their  hands  and  to  cast  them  into  prison 
till  they  be  brought  to  a  more  sober  mind,  is  no 
disobedience  against  princes,  but  just  obedience, 
because  it  agreeth  with  the  will  of  God." 


252  JENNY  GEDDES. 

"  Thus  spoke  Calvinism,"  writes  Froude — "  the 
creed  of  republies  in  its  first  hard  form." 

And,  indeed,  this  was  pretty  strong  meat  for 
those  days  and  for  that  queen  who  had  as  yet 
tasted  nothing  stronger  than  courtly  flatteries  and 
adulations ;  but  strong  as  it  was  it  is  now  acknow- 
ledged, wherever  manly  liberty  is  known,  to  be  as 
wholesome  for  the  citizen  as  unpalatable  to  the 
despot. 

*'  My  subjects,  then,  are  to  obey  you,  not  me  ?" 

"  Nay,"  he  answered,  "  let  prince  and  subject 
both  obey  God.  Kings  should  be  foster-fathers 
of  the  Kirk  and  queens  its  nursing  mothers." 

"You  are  not  the  Kirk  that  I  will  nurse.  I 
will  defend  the  Kirk  of  Rome,  for  that,  I  think, 
is  the  Kirk  of  God." 

"Your  will,  madam,"  said  Knox,  "is  no  reason, 
neither  does  your  thought  make  the  Roman  harlot 
the  spouse  of  Jesus  Christ." 

When  once  the  queen  contemptuously  demanded, 
"What  are  you  in  this  commonwealth?"  he  an- 
swered, "A  subject,  born  within  the  same,  madam  ; 
and,  albeit  I  be  neither  god,  lord  nor  baron  in  it, 
yet  has  God  made  me,  how  abject  that  ever  I  be 
in   your    eyes,   a    profitable    member   within   the 


THE  CONFLICT.  253 

"On  reading  the  actual  narrative  of  the  busi- 
ness," writes  Carlyle — "  what  Knox  said  and  what 
Knox  meant — I  must  say  one^s  tragic  feeling  is  a 
little  disappointed.  They  are  not  coarse,  these 
speeches ;  they  seem  to  me  about  as  fine  as  the 
circumstances  would  permit.  Knox  was  not  there 
to  do  the  courtier;  he  came  on  another  errand. 
Whoever,  reading  these  colloquies  of  his  with  the 
queen,  thinks  they  are  vulgar  insolence  of  a  ple- 
beian priest  to  a  delicate,  high  lady  mistakes  the 
purport  and  -essence  of  them  altogether.  It  was 
unfortunately  not  possible  to  be  polite  with  the 
Queen  of  Scotland,  unless  one  proved  untrue  to 
the  nation  and  cause  of  Scotland,  A  man  who  did 
not  wish  to  see  the  land  of  his  birth  made  a  hunt- 
ing-field for  intriguing,  ambitious  Guises,  and  the 
cause  of  God  trampled  under  foot  of  falsehood's 
formulas  and  the  devil's  cau^e,  had  no  method  of 
making  himself  agreeable.  'Better  that  women 
weep,'  said  Morton,  'than  bearded  men  be  forced 
to  weep.'  Knox  was  the  constitutional  opposition 
party  of  Scotland  —  the  nobles  of  the  country, 
called  by  their  station  to  take  that  post,  were  not 
found  in  it;  Knox  had  to  go,  or  no  one.  The 
hapless  queen,  but  the  still  more  hapless  country, 
if  she  were  made  happy ! 


254  JENNY  GEDDES. 

"  I  am  not  prepared  to  say  Knox  had  a  soft 
temper,  nor  do  I  know  he  had  what  we  call  an  ill 
temper.  An  ill  nature  he  decidedly  had  not — 
kind,  honest  affections  dwelt  in  the  much-enduring, 
hard-worn,  ever-battling  man.  That  he  could  re- 
buke queens,  and  had  such  weight  among  those 
proud,  turbulent  nobles — proud  enough,  whatever 
else  tliey  were — and  could  maintain  to  the  end  a 
kind  of  virtual  presidency  and  sovereignty  in  that 
wild  realm — he  who  was  only  a  subject  born  within 
the  same — this  of  itself  will  prove  to  us  that  he 
was  found  close  at  hand  to  be  no  mean,  acrid  man, 
but  at  heart  a  healthful,  strong,  sagacious  man.'' 

After  the  close  of  his  first  interview  with  the 
queen,  Knox  said,  "  If  there  be  not  in  her  a  proud 
mind  and  a  crafty  wit,  and  an  indurate  heart 
against  God  and  his  truth,  my  judgment  faileth 
me." 

"  He  made  her  weep,"  said  Randolph  to  Cecil, 
"  as  well  you  know  there  be  of  that  sex  that  will 
do  that  for  anger  as  well  as  grief.  You  exhort  us 
to  stoutness.  The  voice  of  that  one  man  is  able  to 
put  more  life  in  us  in  one  hour  than  five  hundred 
trumpets  blustering  in  our  ears." 

When  advised  to  more  gentleness  of  manner, 
Knox  answered :  "  Men  deliting  to  swym  betwixt 


THE  CONFLICT.  255 

two  waters  have  often  compleaned  of  my  severitie, 
I  do  fear  that  that  which  men  term  levitie  and 
dulceness  do  bring  upon  themselves  and  others 
more  fearful  destruction  than  yit  hath  enseued  the 
vehemency  of  any  preacher  wdthin  this  realme." 

XXOX    O.V   TBIAL. 

In  December,  1561,  the  General  Assembly  met, 
at  which  some  of  the  secular  members,  who,  will- 
ing to  see  popery  in  its  grave  could  they  but  be 
the  heirs  of  its  revenues,  and  not  umvilling  to  be 
free  from  its  penances  could  they  but  enjoy  instead 
the  liberty  to  live  in  profligacy,  and  who  dreaded 
the  resti'aints  of  church  discipline,  which  the  assem- 
bly was  aiming  to  enforce,  questioned  the  propriety 
of  such  meetings  without  the  queen^s  consent. 
King  Jesus  must  kneel  down  and  wipe  the  dust 
from  the  sandals  of  King  Caesar.  To  this  sugges- 
tion Knox  exclaimed  :  "  Take  from  us  the  liberty 
of  assemblies  and  take  from  us  the  gospel !  If  the 
liberty  of  the  Church  must  depend  upon  her  allow- 
ance or  disallowance,  we  shall  want  not  only  as- 
semblies but  the  preaching  of  the  gospel."  And 
when  the  proposition  was  made  to  ask  the  queen 
to  ratify  the  Book  of  Discipline,  a  courtier  answer- 
ed:   "Stand  content — that  book   will  not  be  ob- 


256  JENNY   GEDDES. 

tained/^  "Then,"  said  Knox,  "let  God  require 
the  injury  which  the  commonwealth  shall  sustain 
at  the  hands  of  those  who  hinder  it." 

Upon  the  question  of  those  Church  revenues 
that  had  so  long  fattened  the  Romish  beast,  the 
privy  council  at  length  came  to  the  sage  determi- 
nation to  give  two-thirds  to  the  ejected  priests  du- 
ring their  lives,  and  to  divide  the  remaining  third 
between  the  court  and  the  Protestant  ministry. 
"Two  parts,"  exclaimed  Knox,  "given  to  the 
devil,  and  the  third  divided  between  God  and  the 
devil.  To  those  dumb  dogs,  the  bishops,  ten 
thousand  was  not  enough,  but  to  the  servants  of 
Christ,  who  principally  preach  the  gospel,  an  hun- 
dred marks  must  suffice.  How  can  that  be  sus- 
tained ?"  But  the  covetous  lords  cared  little  for 
either  Popery  or  Protestantism ;  but  they  cared 
much  for  gold,  and  they  looked  to  see  their  purses 
replenished  with  a  rich  portion  of  that  two-thirds, 
as  one  by  one  the  displaced  ecclesiastics  disappear- 
ed beneath  the  sod.     Poor  human  nature ! 

The  General  Assembly  met  twice  in  1562,  once 
in  June  and  again  in  December.  The  decrees  of 
the  Assembly  now  went  forth  as  the  act  of  the 
whole  Church.  "  The  haill  Kirk  appoints  and  de- 
cerns."    And    they  provided  by  solemn   act  that 


THE  COyFLICT.  257 

Church  discipline  should  reach  to  all  alike.  The 
"  magistrate  subject  to  the  rule  of  Christ"  was  not 
to  be  "exeemed  from  the  same  puuishment'^  as  the 
rest,  "  being  found  guilty  aud  inobedient." 

The  work  of  Church  construction  went  on  at  a 
steady  pace,  and  as  many  priests  and  persons 
"  called  bishops"  were  still  acting  as  ministers,  it 
was  determined  that  they  be  subject  to  examination 
under  the  eye  of  the  superintendents.  Synods 
were  also  elected  to  meet  twice  a  year,  with  power 
to  appoint  and  translate  ministers,  and  a  committee 
was  nominated  to  adjust  questions  of  jurisdiction 
with  the  privy  council. 

Encouraged  by  the  papacy  on  the  throne,  the 
papacy  in  the  land,  in  spite  of  the  act  of  parliament 
to  the  contrary,  ventured  here  and  there  to  cele- 
brate the  mass ;  but  such  was  the  storm  of  public 
indignation  that  the  cunning  queen  bent  before  it 
and  put  certain  of  the  oifenders  in  not  very  uncom- 
fortable ward.  She  then  convoked  the  parliament, 
and  so  eflPectually  did  she  ply  the  lords  with  her 
wiles  that  not  only  was  nothing  done  in  favour  of, 
but  much  to  the  prejudice  of,  the  Reformation. 
Knox,  of  course,  thundered  out  his  reprehensions 
of  their  conduct,  and  from  his  pulpit,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  many  of  them,  he  said,  "  I  have  been  with 

17 


258  JENNY  GEDDES. 

you  in  your  most  desperate  temptations,  in  your 
most  extreme  clanger.  There  is  not  one  of  you 
against  whom  death  and  destruction  was  threaten- 
ed  perished,  and  how  many  of  your  enemies  has 
God  plagued  before  your  eyes?  Shall  this  be  the 
thankfulness  that  ye  shall  render  unto  your  God?" 
And  then  he  warned  them  against  the  proposed 
marriage  of  the  queen  with  a  papist  and  the  woes 
that  must  ensue  thereon.  For  his  audacity,  the 
queen  summoned  him  before  the  council,  where 
she  gave  him  a  right  queenly  scolding,  in  the 
midst  of  which  she  burst  into  tears. 

The  celebration  of  the  mass  at  Holyrood,  while 
the  queen  was  absent  at  Stirling,  occasioned  a 
slight  popular  outbreak,  for  which,  wanting  re- 
venge, she  cited  two  ministers  to  trial.  Knowing 
her  malignity,  Knox,  in  execution  of  a  commission 
he  held  from  the  Church,  sent  word  to  a  number 
of  Protestant  gentlemen,  asking  their  presence  at 
the  trial.  For  this  act  the  queen  sprang  upon  him 
like  an  eagle  upon  her  prey,  thinking  that  the 
happy  hour  had  arrived  to  send  him  after  Wishart. 
A  grand  assemblage  of  counselors  and  lords  formed 
the  court  that  was  to  try  the  giant  heretic.  With 
intense  anxiety  the  public  awaited  the  result,  as  a 
matter  involving  the  life  or  death  of  the  Reforma- 


THE  CONFLICT.  259 

tion,  and  the  palace  yard  and  avenues  were 
thronged  with  people. 

Previous  to  the  trial  great  efforts  had  been  made 
to  induce  Knox  to  acknowledge  that  he  had  com- 
mitted a  fault  and  to  throw  himself  upon  the 
queen's  mercy,  but,  of  course,  in  vain,  as  he  knew 
himself  innocent  of  any  fault  in  the  matter. 

The  queen,  having  been  assured  by  Lethington, 
her  able  and  astute  secretary,  that  her  trouble  with 
the  stern  Elijah  was  now  virtually  at  an  end,  she 
burst  into  a  fit  of  laughter  as  he  appeared  before 
the  court,  exclaiming,  with  revengeful  glee  : 

'^That  man  made  me  weep  and  never  shed  a 
tear  himself.  I  will  now  see  if  I  can  make  him 
weep.'' 

Ah !  for  her  soul  Knox  could  weep  tears  of 
blood,  but  for  himself  he  could  lose  his  own  blood 
without  weeping. 

One  of  his  letters,  inviting  the  attendance  of  his 
friends  at  the  trial  of  the  two  ministers,  was  handed 
him,  and  the  question  asked, 

"  Is  this  of  your  writing  ?" 

''  Yes,  it  is.'' 

"  You  have  done  more  than  I  would  have 
done,"  said  Maitland. 

**  Charity  is  not  suspicious,"  said  Knox. 


260  JENNY  GEDDES. 

"  Well,  well,"  exclaimed  the  queen,  '^  read  your 
own  letter."     He  did  so. 

"  Heard  you  ever,  my  lords,  a  more  despiteful 
and  treasonable  letter?"  she  asked. 

*^  Mr.  Knox,  are  you  not  sorry,  from  your  heart, 
and  do  you  not  repent  that  such  a  letter  has  passed 
your  pen?"  asked  Maitland. 

^'  My  lord  Secretary,  before  I  repent  I  must  be 
taught  my  offence." 

'^  Offence  !  If  there  be  no  more  l^ut  the  convo- 
cation of  the  queen's  lieges  the  offence  cannot  be 
denied." 

^^  Remember  yourself,  my  lord  ;  there  is  a  dif- 
ference between  a  lawful  convocation  and  an  un- 
lawful. If  I  have  been  guilty  in  this,  I  offended 
oft  since  I  came  last  into  Scotland." 

"  That  was  then  and  now  is  now." 

"  The  time  that  hath  been  is  even  now  before 
my  eyes,  though  then  the  devil  had  a  visor  on 
his  face  and  now  he  comes  under  the  cloak  of 
justice." 

At  this,  her  majesty's  passions  boiled  over,  and 
she  exclaimed : 

"What  is  this?  Methinks  you  trifle  with  him. 
Who  gave  him  authority  to  convoke  my  lieges? 
Is  not  that  treason  ?" 


THE  CONFLICT.  261 

O  good  queen,  your  appetite  for  heretical  blood 
cannot  be  gratified ! 

"No,  madam/'  said  Lord  Ruthven,  "for  he 
makes  convocation  to  hear  prayers  and  sermon 
almost  daily/' 

"  Hold  your  peace  and  let  him  answer  for  him- 
self/^ said  the  queen. 

After  further  reply  by  Knox,  she  answered, 
"  You  shall  not  escape  so.  Is  it  not  treason,  my 
lords,  to  accuse  a  prince  of  cruelty  ?''  A  portion 
of  his  letter  was  then  read,  in  which  he  had  said 
tliat  the  proposed  trial  of  the  two  Protestants  was 
to  open  the  door  to  further  cruelty. 

"So  what  say  you  to  that?'^  asked   the  queen. 

All  ears  were  intent  to  hear  his  reply, 

"  I  ask  your  grace,  madam,  whether  obstinate 
papists  are  not  deadly  enemies  to  the  professors 
of  the  gospel  of  Christ?" 

Mary  was  silent  but  the  lords  were  not.  With 
one  voice  they  exclaimed  : 

"  God  forbid  that  the  lives  of  the  faithful  stood 
in  the  power  of  the  papists !  Experience  has 
taught  us  the  cruelty  of  their  hearts !'' 

Knox  went  on  until  interrupted  by  the  chan- 
cellor, who  said : 

"  You  forget  you  are  not  now  in  the  pulpit." 


262  JEXSY  GEDDES. 

^'1  am  here  to  speak  the  truth/"  said  he,  "and 
tlierefore  the  truth  I  speak,  impugu  it  whoso  list/* 

Knox  and  Mary  withdrew  and  the  vote  was 
taken  acquitting  the  defendant.  Lethington,  en- 
raged, brought  back  the  queen  and  proceeded  to 
take  the  vote  again  in  her  presence.  This  was  too 
much  for  Scotch  blood. 

"  What !"  said  they,  ''  shall  the  Laird  of  Leth- 
ington control  us,  or  the  presence  of  a  woman 
cause  us  to  condemn  an  innocent  man  ?" 

A  woman !  This  is  too  republican !  But  the 
vote  of  acquittal  was  passed  again.  When  the 
bishop  of  Ross,  who  had  been  the  informer  in  the 
case,  voted  with  the  rest,  this  "  woman'^  exclaimed  : 

"  Trouble  not  the  child,  I  pray  you  trouble  him 
not,  for  he  is  newly  awakened  out  of  his  sleep. 
Why  should  not  the  old  fool  follow  the  footsteps 
of  those  that  have  passed  before  him  ?'^ 

So  it  seems  that  a  queen  from  courtly  France 
could  be  uncourtly  upon  occasion  as  well  as  stern 
reformers. 

JPRESB  TTER I  A  NIS  M  KA  TIONA  LIZ  ED. 

To  revolutionize  the  wrong;  rebVious  convictions 
and  worship  of  a  nation  is  a  more  than  herculean 
task.     Often,  almost  always,  this  requires  not  only 


THE  CONFLICT.  263 

the  highest  heroism,  great  firmness  of  purpose, 
vast  intellectual  power,  souls  on  fire  with  the  truth, 
but  also  rivei-s  of  blood.  The  seeds  of  truth  must 
be  moistened  with  streams  from  many  a  martyr's 
veins,  and  our  present  jx^aceful  enjoyment  of  re- 
ligious light  and  liberty  was  bought  for  us  with 
blood  —  the  best  blood  that  ever  coursed  through 
human  veins. 

True  to  the  genius  of  our  holy  religion,  that 
knows  no  distinction  between  sinners  of  whatever 
civil  rank  or  social  grade,  the  Scottish  Reformers 
lashed  with  impartial  scourge  the  sins  alike  of 
nobles  and  peasants.  This,  of  course,  was  not  a 
little  distasteful  to  the  proud  and  profligate.  As 
the  Duchess  of  Buckingham,  in  after  years,  wrote 
to  Lady  Huntington :  "  The  doctrines  of  these 
preachers  are  most  repulsive  and  strongly  tinctured 
with  impertinence  and  disrespect  toward  their  su- 
periors, in  perpetually  endeavouring  to  level  all 
ranks  and  do  away  w^ith  all  distinctions.  It  is 
monstrous  to  be  told  that  you  have  a  heart  as 
sinful  as  the  common  wretches  that  crawl  upon 
the  earth.  This  is  highly  offensive  and  insulting, 
and  I  cannot  but  wonder  that  your  ladyship  should 
relish  any  sentiments  so  much  at  variance  with 
high  rank  and    good-breeding."     And  the  proud 


S64  JENXY  GEDDES, 

sinners  of  the  sixteenth  centnry  relished  tliem  no 
better  than  those  of  kiter  times. 

In  1564  a  conference  was  hekl  between  the  prin- 
cipal statesmen  and  the  ministers  of  the  Church 
respecting  the  freedom  of  the  latter  in  animadv^ert- 
ing  in  the  pulpit  upon  the  morals  of  the  people, 
small  and  great — the  conference  being  assented  to 
by  the  ministers  on  the  express  condition  that  no 
formal  decision  was  to  be  made  upon  the  topics 
discussed.  Knox  and  Lethington  were  the  two 
champions  of  the  hour — the  latter  learned,  subtle 
and  acute ;  the  former  "  superior  to  all  fear." 

The  statesmen  urged  upon  Knox  the  wishes  of 
the  council  that  he  would  study  greater  caution 
and  mildness  in  his  language.  To  this  the  pro- 
phet replied  by  drawing  a  vivid  picture  of  the 
prevalent  vices  of  the  day,  and  added  that  none 
ought  to  be  surprised  at  the  faithful  freedom  of 
God's  ministers,  of  sins  committed  so  openly  and 
persisted  in  so  recklessly. 

The  former  disapproved  of  the  manner  in  which 
Knox  prayed  for  the  queen. 

^'  Ye  pray  for  the  queen's  majesty  with  a  con- 
dition, ^  illuminate  her  heart  if  thy  good  pleasure 
be.'  Where  have  ye  an  example  for  such  a 
prayer  ?" 


TBE  CONFLICT.  266 

"  Wherever  the  examples  are,  I  am  assured  of 
the  rule,  *  If  ye  shall  ask  anything  according  to  his 
will,  he  will  hear  us.'  " 

^'  But  in  so  doing  ye  put  a  doubt  in  the  people's 
heads  of  her  conversion." 

"  Not  I,  my  lord ;  but  her  own  obstinate  rebel- 
lion causes  more  than  me  to  doubt  of  her  conver- 
sion." 

"  AYlierein  rebels  she  against  God  ?" 

"  In  all  the  actions  of  her  life.  She  will  not 
hear  the  preaching  of  the  blessed  evangel  of  Jesus, 
and  she  maintains  that  idol,  the  mass." 

"She  thinks  not  that  rebellion,  but  good  relig- 
ion." 

"  So  thought  they  who  offered  their  children  to 
Moloch." 

"But  yet  ye  can  produce  the  example  of  none 
who  have  prayed  so  before  you." 

"  Peter  said  these  words  to  Simon  Magus,  '  Re- 
pent of  this  thy  wickedness.'  " 

"  But  where  find  ye  that  the  Scriptures  call  any 
the  bond- slaves  of  Satan,  or  that  the  prophets 
spoke  so  irreverently  of  princes  ?" 

"  Paul  said,  '  Behold  I  send  you  unto  the  Gen- 
tiles that  they  may  turn  them  from  the  power  of 
Satan  unto  God.'  " 


266  JENXY  GEDDKS. 

No  wonder  the  noble  secretary  said  lie  was  tired, 
and  begged  some  other  one  to  take  his  place  in 
the  lists.  Chancellor  Morton  cunningly  ordered 
George  Hay  to  answer  Knox,  but  Hay  replied  that 
he  agreed  fully  with  Knox. 

"  Marry  !"  exclaimed  the  discomfited  secretary, 
"ye  are  the  well  worst  of  the  two." 

The  debate  w^as  long  protracted,  and  at  last 
Maitland  proposed  that  a  vote  should  be  taken. 
Against  this  Knox  protested,  reminding  their  lord- 
ships that  the  General  Assembly  had  agreed  to 
this  conference  on  the  express  condition  that  no- 
thing should  be  decided  on ;  and  at  length  the 
meeting  broke  up,  leaving  Knox  triumphant  and 
his  opponents  in  deep  chagrin  at  the  result. 

Toward  the  end  of  1564  Matthew  Stewart,  earl 
of  Lennox,  returned  to  Scotland  after  an  exile  of 
twenty  years.  He  was  of  royal  blood,  and  his 
wife,  the  Lady  Margaret  Douglas,  was  niece  of 
Henry  VIII.  and  uterine  sister  of  James  V.  of 
Scotland.  Soon  after  the  return  of  Lennox,  he 
was  followed  by  his  son  Henry  Stewart,  Lord 
Darnley,  wdio  was  thus  the  nearest  heir  to  both  the 
English  and  Scottish  crowns,  should  both  Eliza- 
beth and  Mary  die  without  issue.  As  he  was  a 
Catholic,  the   Protestant  lords  dreaded   his  union 


THE  CONFLICT.  267 

by  marriage  with  Queen  Maiy.  But  allowing 
tliemselves  to  be  cajoled  by  her  with  a  promise — 
the  promise  of  one  who  made  little  account  of 
even  oaths  to  heretics — to  grant  a  royal  sanction  to 
the  legal  establishment  of  the  Protestant  religion, 
most  of  them  gave  their  consent — the  earl  of  Mur- 
ray, however,  half-brother  to  the  queen,  resolutely 
withholding  his  own.  Upon  this  his  good  sister 
the  queen  resolved  upon  his  ruin. 

Early  in  the  morning,  '^  while  the  drowsy  citi- 
zens of  Edinburgh  were  in  their  morning  sleep," 
Mary  and  Darnley  were  married  in  the  royal 
chapel  by  a  Romish  priest.  To  the  surprise  of 
those  who  w^ere  permitted  to  witness  the  ceremo- 
nies, Mary  wore  a  mourning  dress  of  black  velvet, 
"  such  as  she  wore  the  doleful  day  of  the  burial  of 
her  husband.'' 

"  Whether  it  was  an  accident,''  writes  Froude, 
"  whether  the  doom  of  the  house  of  Stuart  haunt- 
ed her  at  that  hour  with  its  fatal  foreshadowings, 
or  whether  simply  for  a  great  political  purpose  she 
was  doing  an  act  which  in  itself  she  loathed,  it  is 
impossible  to  tell ;  but  that  black  drapery  struck 
the  spectators  with  a  cold,  uneasy  awe." 

Darnley  was  now  proclaimed  king  witliout  wait- 
ing for  the  consent  or  dissent  of  the  estates,  and 


268  JENNY  GEDDES. 

naturally  favoured  his  wife  in  her  schemes  for  the 
ruin  of  Murray.  The  latter  had  objected  to  the 
marriage,  and  the  Scottish  Herodias  would  now 
have  the  dissenter's  head  in  a  charger.  Murray 
was  ordered  to  court,  but  not  silly  enough  to  enter 
the  lion's  den,  he  was  proclaimed  an  outlaw.  He 
now  raised  an  army  of  defence,  which  was  attacked 
and  scattered  by  the  forces  of  the  queen,  and  he, 
driven  from  pillar  to  post,  at  last  took  refuge  in 
England.  Elizabeth,  with  accustomed  irresolution 
and  meanness,  refused  aid  to  those  who  were  fight- 
ing her  battles  in  fighting  their  own. 

A  month  before  the  queen's  marriage  the  Gene- 
ral Assembly  had  met  in  Edinburgli.  To  concili- 
ate the  Protestants  while  her  marriage  scheme  was 
maturing,  she  had  proposed  a  conference  at  Perth. 
Accepting  the  proposition,  the  assembly  drew  up 
six  articles  for  ratification  by  the  parliament  she 
promised  to  call.  The  marriage  having  now  taken 
place,  she  gave  her  answer  to  the  articles,  accom- 
panying it  with  the  declaration  that  she  "  neither 
will  nor  may  leave  the  religion  wherein  she  has 
been  nourished  and  brought  up."  The  second  of 
the  articles  asked  for  permanent  provision  for  the 
ministers,  that  vacant  charges  be  given  to  qualified 
persons,  and  that  "  no  bishopric,  abbacy,  etc.,  hay- 


THE  CONFLICT.  269 

ing  many  kirks  annexed  thereto  may  be  disposed 
to  any  one  man." 

To  this  she  answered  in  effect  that  she  wanted 
the  greater  part  of  the  church  revenues  for  her 
own  use. 

The  assembly  met  again  in  December  and  took 
the  queen's  reply  into  consideration,  and  trans- 
mitted to  lier  their  views  of  the  matter,  to  the 
effect  that  they  would  not  that  she  or  any  other 
patron  be  defrauded  of  their  legal  patronages,  but 
that  the  presentee  should  always  be  tried  and  ex- 
amined by  the  learned  men  of  the  Kirk;  that  if 
the  presentation  remain  in  the  hands  of  the  pa- 
trons, the  admission  of  the  presentee  should  be 
in  the  hands  of  the  Kirk ;  otherw  ise  the  patrons 
could  present  absolutely  whom  they  pleased,  whe- 
ther the  Kirk  pleased  or  not,  and  '^  what  then 
would  abide  in  the  Kirk  of  God  but  ignorance 
without  all  order?" 

This  matter  of  patronage  has  ever  been,  as  it 
must  of  necessity  always  be,  a  thorn  in  the  side 
of  the  body  of  Christ.  It  was  one  of  the  many 
curses  bequeathed  by  Rome  to  Protestantism.  It 
was  long  the  policy  of  the  clergy  to  induce  wealthy 
sinners  to  ease  their  consciences  by  giving  or  be- 
queathing at  their  death  large  sums  of  money  for 


270  JENXr  GEDBES. 

the  endowment  of  cluirches,  monasteries  and  the 
like.  By  this  act,  the  donors  secured  a  legal  right 
for  themselves  and  their  heirs  to  nominate,  or 
present,  as  they  called  it,  the  candidate,  who  was 
to  fill  the  offices  so  established  and  enjoy  the  reve- 
nues accruing  from  these  endowments.  When 
these  patronages  had  largely  multiplied,  the  cun- 
nint>:  clero;y  enabled  tlie  holders  of  this  rio;ht  to 
buy  new  spiritual  favours  by  resigning  it  to  them, 
and  thus  these  patronages  became  distributed 
among  priests  and  nobles,  courtiers  and  kings. 
And  often  when,  say,  a  bishopric  with  ample  reve- 
nues, became  vacant,  some  utterly  ungodly  man 
held  the  legal  right  to  name  the  new  incumbent; 
and  thus  the  ecclesiastical  offices  became  filled  with 
creatures  who  were  as  ignorant  of  religion  as  they 
were  destitute  of  all  moral  decency.  And  now  the 
Reformed  Church,  tied  up  to  the  system  of  patron- 
age, yet  strove  to  secure  itself  against  its  obviously 
corrupting  influence  by  asserting  the  right  to  judge 
of  the  character  of  the  presentee  and  exclude  the 
unworthy. 

The  queen's  proposed  retention  of  so  large  a 
part  of  the  income  of  the  Church  in  her  own 
hands  they  pronounced  "  both  ungodly  and  also 
contrary  to    all    public    order,  bringing  no    small 


THE  COyFLICT.  271 

confusion  to  the  poor  souls,  the  common  people, 
who  by  these  means  should  be  instructed  of  their 
salvation/^  Two-thirds  of  the  patrimony  of  the 
Church  had  already  been  allowed  to  the  rejected 
papists  during  their  lives,  and  now  her  majesty 
would  retain  for  her  own  disposal  the  fruits  of  the 
benefices ! 

And  now,  in  1566,  thick  darkness  began  to 
brood  over  the  land.  Bloody-minded  Romanism, 
at  Trent,  had  decreed  the  extirpation  of  Protest- 
antism, and  the  League  formed  for  this  purpose 
was  sent  to  Mary,  w^ho  promptly  set  her  signature 
to  the  bond,  and  measures  were  taken  by  her  to 
restore  popery  in  Scotland  to  all  its  power  and 
glory.  But  wickedness  is  contagious,  and  in  its 
blindness  is  very  apt  to  commend  its  own  chalice 
to  its  own  lips.  If  Mary  longed  for  blood,  she 
should  see  it  flowing,  but  from  other  veins  than 
she  desired  and  designed. 

The  dark,  cunning  Italian,  Rizzio,  this  woman's 
private  secretary,  had  excited  the  jealousy  of  Darn- 
ley,  the  queen's  weak  and  despised  husband,  and 
he  resolved  on  revenge.  He  drew  certain  lords — 
who  hated  Rizzio  as  heartily  as  he — or  they  drew 
him  into  a  conspiracy  to  rid  the  world  of  his  rival. 
The  other  conspirators   required  of  him,  and   he 


272  JJJNNY  GEDDES. 

gave,  a  bond  declaring  that  all  tliat  was  done  was 
^'  his  own  device  and  intention.''  The  deed  was 
to  have  been  done  on  a  certain  day,  and  when  it 
was  postponed  Darnley  declared  with  an  oath  that 
*'  if  the  slaughter  was  not  hastened"  he  would  stab 
Rizzio  in  the  queen's  presence  with  his  own  hand. 
At  the  next  ap])ointcd  time — Saturday  night,  the 
9th  of  March,  1566 — the  conspirators  surrounded 
Holy  rood  Palace,  secured  the  doors,  and  Darnley 
entered  the  queen's  boudoir — Rizzio  sitting  on  a 
chair  and  the  queen  opposite  him  on  the  sofa. 
Darnley  kissed  the  queen.  She  shrank  from  him, 
and  her  eyes  fell  on  the  corsletted  form  of  Ruth- 
ven  entering  through  the  opening  in  the  tapestries. 
Glaring  on  Darnley,  Mary  answered  his  kiss 
with  the  one  word,  "Judas!"  and  then  demanded 
of  Ruthven  the  cause  of  his  presence  there. 

"  Let  yon  man  come  forth,"  said  he,  pointing  to 
Rizzio ;  ^'  he  has  been  here  over  long." 

"What  has  he  done?" 

"  He  has  offended  your  honour,  and  your  hus- 
band's honour,  and  caused  your  majesty  to  banish 
a  great  part  of  the  nobility." 

Rizzio  was  dragged  out  into  the  darkness  to 
the  bottom  of  the  stairs,  and  stabbed  with  sixty 
wounds.     From  this  hour  the  queen's  dislike  for 


THE  CONFLICT.  273 

her  husband  deepened  into  hatred  the  most  intense, 
and  she  never  rested  till  she  had  seen  him  mur- 
dered. 

Two  or  three  nights  after,  at  midnight,  Marv, 
accompanied  by  her  husband — whom  she  tolerated 
till  his  time  should  come — and  one  servant,  left  the 
palace  by  a  subterranean  passage,  mounted  the 
horses  shivering  in  the  cold,  and  in  two  hours  she 
was  safe  at  Dunbar,  twenty  miles  away.  Thus 
were  her  bloody  designs  against  Protestantism 
frustrated,  the  blood  of  her  secretary  shed,  the 
papal  lords  scattered,  the  Protestant  lords  brought 
back  from  England,  and  the  Parliament  which  was 
to  have  done  her.  w^ork  prorogued.  But  as  her 
power  of  persecuting  the  Church  sank,  her  fury 
against  the  slayers  of  Rizzio  rose,  and  she  now  set 
herself  to  study  revenge.  Having  gathered  an 
army,  she  returned  to  Edinburgh  to  glut  her  re- 
venge. While  agitated  by  these  fierce  passions, 
she  gave  birth,  on  the  19th  of  June,  at  Edinburgh 
Castle,  to  a  son,  afterward  the  noted  James  VI. 
of  Scotland  and  I.  of  England. 

During  this  month  the  Assembly  met,  and  in 
view  of  recent  horrors  and  apparently  impending 
dangers,  ap])ointed  the  first  national  fast  since  the 
beginning  of  the   Reformation.     ^*  The    haill   As- 

18 


274  JENNY  GEDDES. 

sembly,  In  respect  to  the  perils  and  dangers  where- 
with the  Kirk  of  God  is  assaulted,  and  that  by 
mighty  enemies,  considered  a  general  fast  to  be 
published  throughout  this  realm  in  all  kirks  re- 
formed.'' 

But  other  horrors  were  in  store  for  that  suffer- 
ing nation.  As  soon  as  the  queen  recovered  her 
health — in  conjunction  with  the  execrable  James 
Hepburn,  Earl  of  Bothwell,  wicked  as  he  was 
weak — she  began  to  mature  schemes  for  the  mur- 
der of  her  husband.  He  lay  sick  at  Glasgow,  of 
a  sudden  illness,  probably  the  effect  of  poison,  to 
which  the  queen  seems  to  allude  in  a  shameless 
letter  to  Bothwell  from  this  place,  whither  she 
had  gone  to  visit  him,  in  which  she  asks,  '^  Con- 
sider whether  you  can  contrive  anything  more 
secret  by  medicine.  He  is  to  take  medicine  and 
baths  at  Craigmiller."  In  this  letter  this  woman 
tells  Bothwell  that  her  husband's  breath  '^almost 
killed  her,"  and  she  "  sat  as  far  from  him  as  the 
bed  would  allow."  She  tells  Bothwell  that  she 
had  left  her  heart  with  him ;  calls  him  her  ^'  dear 
love,"  and  says  she  can  sleep  nowhere  as  she 
wishes  but  in  his  arms.  Alluding  to  Bothwell's 
young  and  faithful  wife,  she  says,  ''  we  are  coupled 
with  two  bad  companions.     The  devil  sunder  us 


THE  CONFLICT.  275 

and  God  knit  us  together  to  be  the  most  faithful 
couple  that  ever  he  united.'^  Then  she  promises 
to  bring  "  the  man"  with  her,  and  begs  Both  well 
to  *'  provide  for  all  things." 

And  she  did  bring  '^  the  man,"  her  husband, 
to  Edinburgh,  and  Bothwell  met  her  at  the  gatel, 
took  the  man  off  her  hands,  and,  in  spite  of  his 
remonstrances,  lodged  him  in  "  Kirk-a-Field,"  a 
roofless,  ruined  church,  with  a  building  adjoining, 
in  which  a  room  had  been  prepared  for  the  victim. 
"While  he  lay  there  Mary  frequently  visited  him. 
At  midnight  —  Sunday  night,  February  9 — Mary 
sat  with  Darnley,  while  dancing  was  going  on  at  the 
palace  and  while  Bothwell,  with  his  servants,  was 
piling  up  powder-bags  in  the  room  below.  When 
all  was  ready,  Bothwell  came  into  the  room  and 
gave  the  signal  for  Mary  to  retire.  As  she  rose 
to  go,  she  said :  ^'  It  was  just  this  time  last  year 
that  E,izzio  was  slain."  ^Yretched  Darnley  shud- 
dered at  her  words,  and  said,  "  She  was  very  kind, 
but  why  did  she  speak  of  Davie's  slaughter?" 
Some  time  after  an  explosion  was  heard,  and  "Ed- 
ward Seymour  was  blown  to  pieces,  and  the  bodies 
of  Darnley  and  his  page  were  found  forty  yards 
beyond  the  town  wall,  under  a  tree," 

Not  lono^  after  Bothwell  was  divorced  from  his 


276  JENNY  GEDDES. 

wife,  and  Mary,  the  murderess  of  her  former  hus- 
band, was  married  to  Both  well  the  murderer. 

The  nobles  flew  to  arms  to  protect  the  infant 
king,  whom  Bothwell  would  soon  have  hurried  out 
of  the  world  to  make  way  for  his  own  heirs,  and 
whom  the  mother  loved  too  little  to  care  to  protect. 
To  meet  these  the  queen  gathered  a  small  army, 
and  the  parties  met  near  Preston.  But  finding  her 
troops  little  disposed  to  shed  blood  in  such  a  cause, 
she  sent  to  the  confederates  to  treat  with  them, 
while  Bothwell  fled  with  all  precipitation  toward 
Dunbar,  and  at  length  to  the  Shetland  Islands, 
where  he  turned  pirate.  From  thence  he  went  to 
the  Continent,  where  he  was  cast  into  a  prison,  and 
at  length  died,  detested  by  all  who  had  not  forgot- 
ten him. 

The  queen  gave  herself  up  to  the  confederates, 
and  as  she  entered  their  ranks,  dressed,  as  Buchan- 
an says,  "  in  a  short  shabby  robe  that  scarcely 
reached  below^  the  knee,"  the  cry  arose,  "  Burn  the 
harlot !  burn  the  murderer  V^ 

The  soldiers  also  held  up  to  her  view  a  standard 
on  which  Darnley's  dead  body  was  painted,  and 
near  the  body  the  infant  king  praying  to  God  to 
avenge  the  death  of  his  father.  She  was  conducted 
to  Edinburgh,  and  thence,  after  two  days,  by  a  de- 


THE  CONFLICT.  277 

cree  of  the  nobles,  she  was  sent  j)risoner  to  Loch- 
levin  castle.  From  Lochlevin  she  escaped  to  Eng- 
land, where  she  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  merciless 
Elizabeth. 

The  bitterest  and  most  powerful  foe  of  the 
Church  being  now  disabled  and  banished  by  her 
own  crimes,  the  lords,  at  the  meeting  of  the  assem- 
bly in  July,  specified  certain  articles  in  favour  of 
the  Reformation,  the  adoption  of  which  they  prom- 
ised to  secure  at  the  next  lawful  parliament.  The 
earl  of  Murray,  who  had  now  returned  from  exile, 
was  appointed  to  the  regency.  In  December, 
Parliament  met;  at  the  opening  of  which  Knox 
preached,  urging  the  legislators  to  begin  their 
labours  with  the  affairs  of  religion,  that  God 
might  prosper  them  the  more  in  the  arduous 
work  of  restoring  order  in  the  confused  and  shat- 
tered realm.  Heeding  the  admonition,  the  Par- 
liament solemnly  re-ratified  the  acts  of  1560,  abol- 
ishing the  papacy  and  establishing  true  religion 
in  the  land.  It  was  further  provided  that  no 
prince  should  ever  be  admitted  to  the  exercise  of 
authority  in  the  realm  without  first  taking  an  oath 
to  support  the  Protestant  religion,  and  that  none 
but  Protestants  should  be  admitted  to  any  office 
excepting  such  as  were  hereditary  or  held  for  life. 


278  JENNY  GEDDES. 

To  the  Church  alone  was  assigned  the  duty  to  ex- 
amine and  admit  candidates  to  the  ministry,  though 
the  ancient  lay  patrons  might  yet  present  their 
favourites.  Parliament  also  ratified  the  ecclesias- 
tical jurisdiction  claimed  and  exercised  by  the  As- 
semblies of  the  Church.  The  thirds  of  incomes 
from  the  benefices  were  appointed  to  be  paid  into 
the  hands  of  collectors  nominated  by  the  Church, 
who,  after  paying  the  sahu'ies  of  the  ministers, 
were  to  account  for  any  surplus  to  the  exchequer, 

A  few  days  after  this  meeting  of  Parliament 
the  Assembly  met  and  ai)pointed  commissioners 
to  co-operate  with  the  six  members  of  Parliament, 
or  secret  council  nominated  by  the  regent,  for  such 
affairs  as  concerned  the  Kirk  and  its  jurisdiction. 
It  also  degraded  from  the  ministry  "  Adam,  called 
bishop  of  Orkney,"  for  marrying  the  queen  to 
Bothwell,  and  called  John  Craig  to  account  for 
publishing  the  banns  of  marriage  between  them,  and 
in  view  of  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case  ap- 
proved his  course;  and  it  subjected  the  countess 
of  Argyle  to  censure  for  having  given  assistance 
and  countenance  to  the  baptizing  of  the  infant 
king  after  the  popish  fashion. 

Thus  man  proposeth  and  God  disposeth.  Mary 
had  laid  her  cunning  schemes  to  sweep  Protestant- 


THE  CONFLICT.  279 

ism  with  a  bloody  besom  from  the  land,  and  the 
breath  of  God  had  swept  popery  away  instead. 
Mary  slew  her  husband  to  marry  Both  well,  and 
Bothwell,  her  instrument  in  the  bloody  deed,  had 
also  divorced  his  lawful,  faithful  wife  to  marry 
Mary,  and  the  two  thus  united  were  soon  to  lord 
it  over  Scotland,  Church  and  State,  from  Holy- 
rood  Palace;  and  now  Protestantism  held  all  the 
reins  of  power,  and  Bothwell  was  gone  in  one 
direction,  an  execrated  fugitive,  to  a  foreign  prison 
and  a  dishonoured  grave,  and  Mary  was  gone,  an 
execrated  fugitive,  in  another  direction,  to  Eng- 
land— to  execution ! 

Presbyterianism  was  now  become  the  acknow- 
ledged religion  of  the  realm — sanctioned,  not  cre- 
ated by  the  authorities  of  the  kingdom.  Man  pro- 
poseth — God  disposeth  !  And  let  all  the  people 
say,  Amen  ! 

THE  TUT.CHANS. 

If  the  darkest  hour  is  just  before  the  day,  the 
brightest  dawn  is  often  darkened  by  quick-gather- 
ing clouds,  to  be  followed  by  a  day  of  wrathful, 
desolating  storm. 

For  the  hour,  in  Scotland,  the  skies  were  very 
bright,  and  sj)ring  promised  abundant  bloom  and 


280  JENNY   GEDDES. 

bountiful  harvest.  The  Church,  victor  over  all 
her  foes,  was  mistress  of  the  field.  Neither  papal 
monarch,  state  council  nor  Parliament  under  the 
manipulation  of  ungodly  Lethingtons,  threatened 
invasion  of  her  rights.  Her  assemblies  possessed 
unchallenged  spiritual  jurisdiction,  and  her  un- 
trammelled ministers  were  free  to  proclaim,  where 
they  would  and  as  often  as  they  pleased,  the  "  holy 
evangel"  of  Christ. 

Even  during  the  troublous  times  now  passed  the 
Church  had  enjoyed  a  not  discouraging  growth. 
In  the  first  General  Assembly,  in  1560,  there  were 
but  six  ministers,  and  this  was  one-half  of  the 
whole  number  of  Protestant  ministers  then  in  Scot- 
land ;  while  now,  seven  years  after,  the  Church 
could  number  two  hundred  and  fifty-two  ministers, 
four  hundred  and  sixty-seven  readers  and  an  hun- 
dred and  fifty-four  exhorters. 

In  the  mean  time,  improvement  in  doctrine  and 
discipline,  as  Hetherington  writes,  "  was  not  less 
rapid,  steady  and  decided.  Offenders  of  every 
kind  and  degree  were  compelled  to  yield  obedience 
to  sacred  authority ;  noblemen  and  ladies  of  high- 
est rank  submitted  to  disciplinary  censures ;  lordly 
prelates  were  constrained  to  bow  their  unmitred 
heads  before  the  Church's  rebuke ;  over  the  refrac- 


THE  CONFLICT.  281 

tory  members  of  its  own  body — over  one  even  of 
its  early  champions,  Paul  Methven — its  power 
was  extended  in  the  impartial  administration  of 
even-handed  spiritual  justice.  That  there  must 
have  been  a  marvellous  amount  of  the  divine  in- 
fluence accompanying  all  the  exertions  of  the 
Church,  when  the  walls  of  her  temples  were  thus 
built  in  troublous  times,  we  cannot  doubt.'' 

But  the  seeds  of  evil  were  rapidly  germinating 
under  the  calm  sky — bloody  civil  wars  impending 
betw^een  the  queen's  party  and  that  of  the  king — 
the  friends  of  the  Church  to  fall,  the  good  regent 
to  be  assassinated,  and  Knox  to  die — and  malad- 
ministration under  other  regents,  strong  or  weak, 
and  wicked  whether  weak  or  strong. 

But,  worst  of  all,  foes  to  the  Church  were  to 
spring  up  within  her  own  household.  As  there 
was  one  traitor  among  the  twelve  apostles,  so  in 
all  ages  there  are  tares  among  the  wheat,  in  pulpit 
and  in  pews.  The  ancient,  and  in  many  countries 
still  prevalent,  system  of  admitting  to  the  com- 
munion on  external  rather  than  internal  grounds, 
upon  a  recital  of  the  catechism  and  the  creed, 
.rather  than  upon  probable  evidence  of  heartfelt 
piety,  has  always  resulted  in  disaster — disaster  to 
the  persons  thus  admitted,  and,  through  such  of 


282  JENNY  GEDDES. 

them  as  passed  into  the  offices  of  the  Church,  sad 
disaster  to  the  whole  Church. 

In  the  exciting  times  of  the  early  Reformation 
little  inquiry  was  made  of  applicants  for  church- 
membership  and  office,  beyond  merely  external 
qualifications  ;  and  many  of  the  so-called  Protestant 
lords — even  those  who  legislated  as  ruling  elders 
in  church  courts — were  the  merest  ecclesiastical 
politicians,  willing  enough  to  be  rid  of  the  papacy, 
but  more  willing  still  to  serve  themselves,  even  at 
the  expense  of  sound  Protestantism.  The  divisions 
and  commotions  and  corruptions  embosomed  in 
such  seed  were  not  long  in  making  themselves 
manifest. 

In  the  mean  time,  while  the  partisans  of  Mary 
on  the  one  hand,  and  those  of  the  regent  on  the 
other,  were  engaged  in  keeping  the  realm  in  ebul- 
lition, the  General  Assembly  were  active  and 
vigilant. 

In  July,  1568,  they  passed  an  ordinance  pre- 
scribing the  qualifications  of  membership  in  their 
body  and  the  methods  of  election;  and  another 
suppressing  a  book  entitled  the  '^  Fall  of  the 
Roman  Kirk,"  in  which  the  king  was  named  as 
the  "  Supreme  Head  of  the  Primitive  Kirk ;"  for 
from  first  to   last   Christ's   sole   headship  in   his 


THE  CONFLICT.  283 

Church  has  been  the  favourite  watchword  with 
Scotch  Presbyterians.  They  also  demanded  more 
ample  provisions  for  the  support  of  the  ministry — 
a  demand  to  which  "  The  Good  Regext"  would 
have  listened  if  he  could. 

But  this  magnanimous  man,  beset  with  snares 
and  schemes  for  his  assassination,  had  more  than 
enough  to  do  to  maintain  a  position  becoming 
more  and  more  precarious,  and  to  discharge  the 
secular  duties  of  an  office  becoming  more  and 
more  arduous.  Lethington,  the  faithless,  joined 
the  queen's  party  and  became  a  chief  scliemer  in 
all  her  unscrupulous  intrigues.  But  the  regent 
held  on  his  way,  reforming  abuses,  maintaining 
public  order,  administering  justice  and  defending 
everybody  but  himself.  The  queen's  agents,  how- 
ever, were  as  remorseless  as  he  was  kind  and  con- 
scientious; and,  finding  it  impossible  to  compass 
his  death  by  open  assault,  they  at  length  took  a 
lesson  from  the  conduct  of  the  queen  and  resolved 
upon  assassination.  Hamilton  of  Both  well  hough, 
a  nephew  of  the  archbishop  of  St.  Andrews,  whose 
life  Murray  had  once  spared,  undertook  the  task 
of  murdering  his  benefactor.  Like  a  bloodhound 
he  followed  his  victim  from  place  to  place.  He 
hunted  him  from  Dumbarton  to  Glasgow,  and  from 


284  JENNY  GEDDES. 

Glasgow  to  Stirling,  and  from  Stirling  to  Linlith- 
gow, where  the  archbishop  had  a  house  not  far 
from  the  house  in  which  Murray  was  accustomed 
to  lodge.  In  this  house  the  assassin  concealed 
himself  to  watch  his  opportunity.  The  regent  was 
warned  of  this  on  the  very  day  of  the  murder,  but 
he  despised  danger  and  trusted  his  life  with  his 
God.  As  he  rode  along  on  his  horse,  the  mur- 
derer, from  behind  a  curtain  on  the  balcony,  took 
aim  and  shot  him,  and  then,  escaping  by  a  back 
door  through  the  garden,  fled  to  his  accomplices 
and  was  received  with  warm  congratulations. 

Thus  died  James  Stuart,  earl  of  Murray,  son  of 
James  Y.  and  half-brother  of  Mary  Queen  of  Scots 
— a  high-minded,  enlightened  Christian  statesman, 
who  well  earned  the  title  affectionately  bestowed 
upon  him,  ^' The  Good  Kegent'^  —  and  with  him 
fell  a  bright  star  from  the  banner  of  Presbyterian- 
ism  in  Scotland.  He  was  succeeded  in  the  regency 
by  Matthew  Stuart,  the  earl  of  Lennox  and  grand- 
father of  the  young  king.  The  realm,  now  divided 
under  two  factions — the  one  supporting  the  claims 
of  the  exiled  queen,  and  the  other  those  of  the  king 
and  the  regent — was  devastated  by  civil  wars  ;  the 
two  parties  being  so  equally  matched  that  neither 
could  gain  decided  advantage  over  the  other.     Of 


THE  CONFLICT.  285 

course  tlie  Cliiirch  lent  all  her  influence  to  the 
king's  party,  but  could  do  little  more  than  preach 
and  pray  amidst  the  ceaseless  din  of  clashing  arms. 
Knox  was  a  special  object  of  hatred  to  the  mur- 
derers of  Murray.  AVhen  news  of  the  regent's 
death  reached  Edinburgh,  Knox  was  overwhelmed 
with  distress,  for  it  had  been  through  his  inter- 
cession that  the  life  of  the  murderer  had  been 
spared  by  the  earl,  and  in  a  sermon  on  the  day 
following  he  thus  poured  out  his  heart: 

"  Thy  image,  O  Lord,  did  so  clearly  shine  in  that 
personage  that  the  devil  and  the  people  to  whom 
he  is  prince  could  not  abide  it,  and  so  to  punish 
our  sins  and  our  ingratitude  thou  hast  permitted 
him  to  fall,  to  our  great  grief,  in  the  hand  of  cruel 
and  traitorous  murderers.  He  is  at  rest,  O  Lord — 
w^e  are  left  in  extreme  misery.'^ 

As  Knox  was  preaching  at  the  weekly  confer- 
ence, he  found  in  the  pulpit  a  paper  containing 
these  words :  "  Take  up  now  the  man  whom  you 
accounted  another  God,  and  consider  the  end  to 
which  his  ambition  hath  brought  him."  During 
the  sermon,  Knox  said : 

"  There  is  one  present  who  has  thrown  into  the 
pulpit  a  paper  exulting  over  the  regent's  death. 
That  wicked  man,  whosoever  he  be,  shall  not  go 


286  JENNY  QEDDES. 

unpunished,  and  shall  die  where  there  shall  be 
none  to  lament  him." 

Maitland  of  Lethington,  on  his  return  from 
church,  said  to  his  sister, 

"  That  man  is  raving,  to  speak  thus  of  one  he 
knows  not." 

Slie,  suspecting  her  brother,  replied  with  tears: 
"None  of  that  man's  denunciations  are  wont  to 
prove  idle/' 

Maitland  died  in  Italy,  having  "  no  known  per- 
son to  attend  him." 

At  the  funeral  of  the  regent,  Knox  preached  to 
a  weejiing  audience  of  three  thousand  persons,  on 
the  text,  '^Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the 
Lord."  And  the  General  Assembly,  at  its  meet- 
ing, the  month  following,  ordered  that  the  assassin 
be  publicly  excommunicated  in  all  the  chief  towns 
in  the  kingdom. 

Such  were  now  the  number,  power  and  malice 
of  the  enemies  of  Knox  in  Edinburo^h  that  he  was 
persuaded  to  retire  for  a  while  to  St.  Andrew's; 
and  on  his  disappearance  they  circulated  reports, 
some  that  he  would  never  preach  again,  some  that 
"  his  face  was  turned  into  his  neck,"  and  some  that 
he  was  dead. 

But  the  fall  of  the  Good  Regent  was  neither  the 


THE  CONFLICT.  287 

only  nor  the  worst  calamity  that  befel  the  Church. 
Foes  without  can  be  met  and  vanquished,  but  what 
shall  be  done  with  covert  foes  within  the  citadel? 
Greedy  nobles  were  hungering  for  the  income  of 
the  Church.  Several  of  the  popish  incumbents 
had  died,  and  the  question  now  arose  as  to  the 
disposal  of  the  funds  thus  freed  from  papal  grasp. 
The  Church  claimed  that,  as  they  had  been  con- 
secrated to  religion,  they  should  now  be  employed 
in  supporting  pastors  and  teachers.  To  this  the 
ignoble  nobility  would  not  listen,  though  as  yet 
they  dared  not  openly  attempt  their  secularization. 
But  where  there  is  a  will  there  is  a  way.  When- 
ever did  avarice  fail  of  cunning  to  help  itself  to 
forbidden  gold  ?  The  credit  of  solving  the  arduous 
problem  belongs  to  James  Douglas,  earl  of  Morton, 
and  afterward  regent.  Able,  ambitious,  avaricious 
and  rapacious,  he  was  well  capable  of  conceiving 
and  executing  any  scheme  that  promised  either 
power  or  profit.  Accordingly,  on  the  death  of  the 
popish  archbishop  of  St.  Andrew's,  Morton  ob- 
tained a  grant  empowering  him  to  dispose  of  the 
archbishopric  and  its  revenues.  Not  daring  to 
formally  hold  the  benefice  himself  and  feed  his 
purse  with  the  income,  he  induced  John  Douglas, 
rector  of  the  University  of  St.  Andrew's,  to  take 


288  JENXY  GEDDES. 

the  office  of  archbishop,  with  the  understanding 
that  he,  Morton,  should  have  the  lion's  share  of 
the  revenues. 

Thus  the  way  was  open  for  the  infliction  upon 
the  Church  of  a  set  of  nngodly  officers,  whose  titles 
and  duties  were  alike  disallowed  by  Presbyterian- 
ism,  and  for  the  diversion  of  the  ecclesiastical 
revenues  into  secular  and  avaricious  hands. 

Through  this  transparent  scheme  Knox  saw  at 
a  single  glance,  and,  being  unable  to  attend  the 
meeting  of  the  Assembly  at  Stirling,  in  August, 
1571,  he  wrote  to  them  : 

"And  now,  brethren,  because  the  daily  decay  of 
natural  strength  threateneth  my  certain  and  sud- 
den departing  from  the  misery  of  this  life,  of  love 
and  conscience  I  exhort  you;  in  the  fear  of  God 
I  charge  and  command  you  that  ye  take  heed  unto 
yourselves  and  to  the  flock  over  which  God  hath 
placed  you  overseers.  Unfaithful  and  traitorous 
to  the  flock  shall  ye  be  before  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  if,  with  your  consent  directly,  ye  suffer  un- 
worthy men  to  be  thrust  into  the  ministry.  This 
battle  will  be  hard,  but  in  the  second  point  it  will 
be  harder;  that  is,  tliat,  with  the  like  uprightness 
and  strength  in  God,  ye  gainstand  the  merciless 
devourers   of  tlie   patrimony  of  the  Church.     If 


THE  COy^FLICT.  289 

men  will  spoil,  let  them  do  it  to  their  own  peril 
and  condemnation,  but  communicate  ye  not  with 
their  sins  by  consent  nor  by  silence;  but  with 
})ublic  proclamation  make  this  known  to  the  world, 
that  ye  are  innocent  of  the  robbery  whereof  ye  will 
seek  redress  of  God  and  man.  God  give  you  wis- 
dom and  stout  courage  in  so  just  a  cause!'' 

The  Assembly  sent  a  remonstrance  to  Parlia- 
ment against  this  scheme  of  Morton,  and  loudly 
protested  against  Douglas  taking  a  seat  in  that 
body  as  lord-bishop,  on  pain  of  excommunication. 
Morton,  however,  whose  wdll  was  not  easily  re- 
sisted, secured  his  admission  and  commanded  him 
to  vote  as  archbishop  on  pain  of  treason.  Thus 
Parliament  took  the  first  step  toward  the  displace- 
ment of  Presbyterianism,  which  had  been,  under 
God,  the  regenerator  of  Scotland,  and  the  substitu- 
tion of  Episcopacy,  which  never  entered  the  realm 
but  as  a  curse. 

While  thus  spiritual  war  raged  within  the 
Church,  civil  war  was  making  havoc  in  the  realm 
without.  While  Parliament  sat  at  Stirling,  the 
Cjueen's  party,  in  a  body  about  five  hundred  strong, 
entered  the  town  without  resistance,  attacked  the 
house  where  Morton  was  lodging,  and,  setting  it 
on  fire,  killed  several  of  his  servants,  and  at  length 

19 


290  JENNY  GEDDES. 

took  him  prisoner,  together  with  the  regent,  whom 
they  slew.  But  the  governor  of  the  castle,  rallying 
a  few  men,  drove  them  out  of  the  town ;  and  the 
nobles  elected  John  Erskine,  earl  of  Mar,  as  regent. 
Mar  was  little  disposed  to  hostility  to  the  Church, 
but,  as  he  had  himself  seized  a  portion  of  her 
patrimony,  and  as  he  was  also  greatly  under  the 
influence  of  Morton,  little  aid  could  be  looked  for 
from  him  in  the  great  struggle  in  which  she  was 
now  engaged. 

Powerful,  how^ever,  as  Morton  was,  he  some- 
times found  himself  something  else  than  victor  in 
his  conflicts  with  the  Church.  The  tithe-collectors 
of  St.  Andrew's  having  refused  to  pay  them  into 
the  hand  of  his  creature  Douglas,  Morton  secured 
from  the  regent  an  injunction  forbidding  their  col- 
lecting them.  But  Erskine  of  Dun  procured  the 
annulment  of  this  prohibition  by  an  earnest  re- 
monstrance to  the  regent,  in  which  he  says : 

"There  is  a  spiritual  jurisdiction  and  power 
which  God  has  given  to  his  Ivirk  and  to  them 
that  bear  office  therein ;  and  there  is  a  temporal 
jurisdiction  and  power  given  of  God  to  kings  and 
civil  magistrates.  Both  the  powers  are  of  God, 
and  most  agreeing  to  the  fortifying  one  of  the 
other  if  they  be  right  used.     But  when  the  cor- 


THE  CONFLICT.  291 

ruption  of  man  enters  in,  confounding  the  offices, 
usurping  to  himself  what  he  pleases,  nothing  re- 
garding the  good  order  appointed  of  God,  then 
confusion  follows  in  all  estates.  The  Kirk  of 
God  should  fortify  all  power  and  authority  that 
pertains  to  the  civil  magistrate,  because  it  is  the 
ordinance  of  God.  But  if  he  pass  the  bounds  of 
his  office  and  enter  within  the  sanctuary  of  the 
Lord,  meddling  with  such  things  as  appertain  to 
the  ministers  of  God's  Kirk,  then  the  servants  of 
God  should  withstand  his  unjust  enterprise,  for  so 
they  are  commanded  of  God.'' 

The  distinction  here  drawn  between  State  and 
Church  is  clear  and  fundamental,  but  it  was  a  long 
day  before  the  precise  boundaries  of  and  relations 
between  these  two  jurisdictions  was  well  under- 
stood ;  and  wherever  Church  and  State  are  in  any 
way  formally  united,  they  are  of  necessity,  to  a 
most  harmful  degree,  confounded. 

Erskine,  in  the  same  letter,  deplores  "  the  great 
disorder  used  in  Stirling,  in  the  last  Parliament, 
in  creating  bishops,  placing  them  and  giving  them 
a  vote  in  Parliament,  in  despite  of  the  Kirk  and 
high  contempt  of  God,  the  Kirk  opposing  herself 
to  that  disorder." 

On  the  12th  of  January,  1572,  a  convention  of 


292  JENNY  GEDDES. 

the  superintendents  and  certain  ministers  was  con- 
voked by  the  regent  at  Leith  to  consult  together 
about  the  affairs  of  the  Church.  This  convention, 
mistaking  its  own  powers,  appointed  a  committee 
to  confer  with  the  privy  council,  and  agreed  to 
ratify  the  conchisions  they  might  come  to  in  ac- 
cordance Avith  their  instructions.  So  difficult  is  it 
to  be  always  wise — so  hard  to  see  a  clear  way 
through  cloudy  complications  —  so  rarely  are  the 
children  of  the  kingdom  true  children  of  Issachar 
that  have  understanding  of  the  times,  to  know 
what  Israel  ought  to  do !  A  joint  committee  of 
six  ministers  and  six  of  the  council — a  self-consti- 
tuted body  without  all  authority  from  the  Church — 
undertook  to  settle  matters  of  national  importance 
between  Church  and  State.  And  they  agreed  upon 
a  subtle  scheme  for  setting  j^ip  Mortonism  in  the 
Church,  by  which,  under  unlawful  ecclesiastical 
forms,  the  patrimony  of  the  Church  might  gratify 
the  greed  of  avaricious  lords.  The  titles  of  arch- 
bishop and  bishop  were  to  be  retained,  and  the 
bounds  of  dioceses  to  remain  as  in  old  popish 
times,  until  the  king^s  majority  or  until  Parlia- 
ment should  determine  upon  the  matter ;  the  arch- 
bishops and  bishops,  to  be  chosen  by  an  assembly 
of  learned  ministers,  to  have  like  jurisdiction  with 


THE  CONFLICT.  293 

the  superintendents,  and  be  subject  to  the  General 
Assembly  in  spiritual  and  to  the  king  in  secular 
matters.  Like  arrangements  were  made  respecting 
abbacies,  priories  and  the  rest,  and  the  holders  of 
the  larger  benefices  to  have  place  in  Parliament. 
This  arrangement  was  at  once  confirmed  by  the 
regent,  and  the  Church  turned  into  a  conglomerate 
of  Presbytery,  Prelacy  and  Popery. 

Now  the  scheme  of  Morton  was  realized.  Am- 
bitious ecclesiastics  would  fill  the  offices,  draw  the 
revenues  and  pay  over  the  chief  share  to  the 
patrons  through  whose  influence  they  came  into 
place. 

This  scheme  soon  received  from  the  wits  of  the 
day  a  designation  which  covered  it  with  merited 
ridicule,  and  showed  how  well  its  ends  and  aims 
were  comprehended  by  the  popular  mind.  In  the 
Highlands  it  was  then  not  uncommon  to  deceive 
refractory  cows  into  yielding  their  milk,  by  stuffing 
the  skin  of  a  departed  calf  with  straw  and  placing 
it  besicfe  the  cow  as  her  own  offspring ;  and  now 
Janet  had  little  difficulty  in  safely  filling  her  pail. 
The  name  given  to  this  surreptitious  calf  was 
Tulchan.  And  no  sooner  did  the  popular  mind 
comprehend  this  new  procedure  than  it  saw  that 
the  diocese  was  the  cow,  and  the  bishop  the  stuffed 


294  JENNY  GEDDES. 

calf,  that  meekly  stood  by  while  the  patron  filled 
his  pail  with  the  revenues.  Hence  these  ecclesias- 
tical tools  came  to  be  called  Tulchans. 

Morton's  Tulchan,  Douglas,  was  first  ordained 
and  installed  in  the  archbishopric  of  St.  Andrew's. 
Knox  was  invited  by  Morton  to  inaugurate  Doug- 
las, and  he  replied  to  the  invitation  by  anathema- 
tizing both  Douglas  and  Morton  ;  and  in  the  As- 
sembly which  met  at  St.  Andrew's  the  following 
month  he  entered  his  protest  against  the  election 
of  Douglas,  and  "  opposed  himself  directly  to  the 
making  of  bishops." 

Patrick  Adamson  said  that  there  were  three 
sorts  of  bishops  —  "my  lord  bishop,  my  lord's 
bishop  and  the  Lord's  bishop.  My  lord  bishop 
was  in  the  papistrie,  my  lord's  bishop  is  now  when 
my  lord  gets  the  benefice,  and  the  bishop  serves 
for  nothing  but  to  make  his  title  sure,  and  the 
Lord's  bishop  is  the  true  minister  of  the  gospel." 

In  August,  the  Assembly  met  at  Perth  and 
passed  the  Leith  aiTangement  under  consideration, 
and  protested  that  the  heads  of  articles  therein 
should  be  received  only  as  an  interim,  till  farther 
order  be  obtained  from  the  king,  regent  and  no- 
bility, for  which  they  would  press  as  occasion 
served.     This,  however,  was  rather  a  bowing  be- 


THE  CONFLICT.  295 

fore  the  storm  than  a  manly,  indignant  opposition, 
and  the  poor  Church  reaped  the  harvest  of  their 
cowardice. 

To  this  Assembly,  Knox — now  near  the  end  of 
his  career — addressed  a  farewell  letter,  replete  with 
solemn  counsel  and  wholesome  advice,  thouo^h  he 
abstained  from  advising  them  to  a  course  of  oppo- 
sition to  the  articles  of  Leith,  for  which  he  knew 
their  courage  and  ability  inadequate. 

And  now  another  calamity  befel  the  Church,  in 
the  elevation  of  Morton,  the  originator  of  Tulchan- 
ism,  to  the  regency  on  the  death  of  Mar,  who  was 
worn  out  with  the  anxieties  and  toils  of  guiding 
the  ship  of  state  during  the  dark,  stormy  period 
of  disorder  and  civil  war. 

But  the  greatest  sorrow  of  all — as  it  at  the  same 
time  deprived  the  Church  of  her  Elijah  and  left  a 
timid,  time-serving  ministry  in  the  hands  of  Ahab, 
in  the  person  of  the  regent — was  the  death  of 
Knox.  ^lorton  was  scarcely  seated  in  the  regency 
when  Knox  was  laid  in  his  grave.  For  long  he 
had  been  sighing,  "  Call  for  me,  dear  brethren, 
that  God  in  his  mercy  will  please  to  put  an  end 
to  my  long  and  painful  battle.  For  now,  being 
unable  to  fight,  I  thirst  an  end  before  I  be  more 
troublesome  to  the  faithful ;  and  yet,  Lord,  let  my 


296  JENNY  GEDDES. 

desire  be  moderated  by  thy  Holy  Spirit.  The  day 
approaches,  and  is  now  before  the  door,  for  which  I 
have  frequently  and  vehemently  thirsted,  when  I 
shall  be  released  from  my  great  labours  and  innu- 
merable sorrows,  and  shall  be  with  Christ.  And 
now,  God  is  my  witness,  whom  I  have  served  in 
the  spirit  in  the  gospel  of  his  Son,  that  I  have 
taught  nothing  but  the  true  and  solid  doctrine  of 
the  gospel  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  have  had  it  for 
my  only  object  to  instruct  the  ignorant,  to  confirm 
the  faithful,  to  comfort  the  weak,  the  fearful  and 
the  distressed  by  the  promises  of  his  grace,  and  to 
fight  against  the  proud  and  rebellious  by  the  divine 
threaten ings."  Go  tell  Grange,  once  courageous 
and  constant,  that  "  John  Knox  remains  the  same 
man  now  that  he  is  about  to  die  that  ever  he  knew 
him  when  able  in  body,  and  wills  him  to  consider 
what  he  was  and  the  estate  in  which  he  now 
stands,  which  is  a  great  part  of  his  trouble." 

To  Morton,  he  said : 

^'  Well,  God  has  beautified  you  with  many  bene- 
fits which  he  has  not  given  to  every  man.  And 
therefore,  in  the  name  of  God,  I  charge  you  to  use 
all  these  benefits  aright,  and  better  in  time  to  come 
than  ye  have  done  in  times  bypast.  If  ye  shall  do 
so,  God  shall  bless  you  and  honour  you ;  but  if  ye 


THE  CONFLICT.  297 

do  it  not,  God  shaH  spoil  you  of  these  benefits,  and 
your  end  shall  be  ignominy  and  shame." 

On  the  21st  of  November,  three  days  before  his 
death,  he  spoke  at  intervals  such  words  as  these : 

"Come,  Lord  Jesus.  Sweet  Jesus,  into  thy 
hands  I  commend  my  spirit.  Be  merciful,  Lord, 
to  thy  Church  which  thou  hast  redeemed.  Give 
peace  to  this  afflicted  commonwealth.  Raise  up 
faithful  pastors.  Grant  us,  Lord,  the  perfect  hatred 
of  sin.  Oh  serve  the  Lord  in  fear,  and  death  shall 
not  be  terrible  to  you.  Nay,  blessed  shall  death 
be  to  those  who  have  felt  the  power  of  the  death 
of  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God." 

On  Sabbath,  the  23d,  he  said: 

"  If  any  be  present,  let  them  come  and  see  the 
work  of  God.  I  have  fought  against  spiritual 
wickedness  in  heavenly  things  and  have  prevailed. 
I  have  been  in  heaven  and  have  possession.  I 
have  tasted  the  heavenly  joys  where  presently 
I  am." 

Monday,  November  24,  1572,  was  his  last  day 
on  earth.     When  asked  if  he  felt  pain,  he  replied  : 

"  It  is  no  painful  pain,  but  such  a  pain  as  shall 
soon,  I  trust,  put  end  to  the  battle."  He  asked 
his  wife  to  read  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  first  Cor- 
inthians ;  on  hearing  which,  he  said ; 


298  JENNY  GEDDES. 

"Is  not  that  a  comfortable  chapter?  Oh  what 
sweet  and  salutary  consolation  the  Lord  hath  af- 
forded me  from  that  chapter  !'^  About  five  o'clock 
he  said  to  his  wife : 

"  Go,  read  where  I  cast  my  first  anchor ;"  when 
she  read  the  seventeenth  chapter  of  John's  gospel. 
At  ten  o'clock  prayer  was  offered,  and  he  was 
asked  if  he  heard  it.     He  answered  : 

"  Would  to  God  that  you  and  all  men  heard  as 
I  heard.  I  praise  God  for  the  heavenly  sound." 
About  eleven  he  gave  a  deep  sigh,  and  said,  "  Now 
it  is  come."  Being  now  speechless,  he  was  re- 
quested to  give  a  sign  that  he  was  supported  by 
the  promises,  and  he  lifted  one  of  his  hands  and 
died  without  a  struo-crle. 

A  vast  concourse  of  the  people  and  all  the  no- 
bility in  the  city  attended  his  funeral ;  and,  at  the 
grave,  the  regent  Morton  said,  "  There  lies  he  who 
never  feared  the  face  of  man." 

The  departure  of  Knox  was  a  blow  to  the 
Church,  under  which  "it  reeled  and  staggered  like 
a  storm-tossed  vessel  when  the  pilot's  hand  has 
ceased  to  guide  the  rudder,"  while  the  same  event 
gave  new  life  to  Morton,  who  fancied  that  there 
was  no  one  left  for  him  to  fear.  Taking  the  im- 
perious, selfish  Elizabeth  of  England  for  his  ex- 


THE  CONFLICT.  299 

ample,  lie  proceeded  to  deal  with  the  Scotch  eccle- 
siastics as  she  dealt  with  her  bishops.  Finding 
that  Presbyterian  elders  are  much  less  easily  man- 
ageable than  prelatic  bishops,  he  set  himself  to 
change  the  whole  ecclesiastical  system  into  a  pliant, 
serviceable  prelacy.  The  road  to  this  lay  through 
the  multiplication  of  tulchan  bishops,  and  filling 
church  offices  with  unprincipled  sycophants ;  and 
along  this  road  he  steadily  walked.  And  at  the 
same  time,  to  reduce  the  power  of  the  Church  and 
increase  his  own,  and  also — a  matter  of  chief  aim 
with  him  —  to  enrich  himself,  he  drew  into  his 
own  hands  the  thirds  of  the  benefices,  promising 
to  pay  the  pastors  hiuiself.  And  then  he  joined 
two,  sometimes  three,  and  sometimes  four  parishes 
together,  and  through  his  pliant  tools,  the  tulchans, 
he  appointed  one  minister  to  preach  in  each  by 
turns,  paying  one  salary  and  pocketing  the  rest. 

Against  this  wickedness  the  Assembly  remon- 
strated more  or  less  energetically,  and  did  what 
it  could  to  exercise  control  over  the  tulchaus.  In 
this  struggle  the  Scotch  spirit  rose  somewhat,  and 
the  Assembly  remonstrated  earnestly  with  the  re- 
gent, and  placed  the  tulchan  bishop  of  Dunkeld 
under  censure  for  improper  conduct.  The  rigour 
of  these  measures  was  largely  due  to  one  on  whom 


300  JEKNY  GEDDES. 

the   mantle  of  the  departing  Knox  had   fallen — 
Andrew  Melville. 

TI1£:  lUELVILLES, 

The  truest  test  of  doctrines  and  principles  is 
their  influence  on  men,  their  character,  and  thence 
on  their  conduct.  By  their  fruits  shall  ye  know 
them.  For  man  is  very  largely  what  the  contents 
of  his  mind  make  him.  Physically,  he  is  some- 
what the  creature  of  climate;  mentally,  he  is  some- 
what as  his  physical  nature  provides  for  and  allows. 
But  this  is  true  only  as  to  the  intrinsic  character 
of  his  powers.  And  whatever  these  be,  they  are 
at  first  mere  capabilities,  without  either  skill  to 
act  or  tools  to  work  with.  Tools  and  skill  must 
come  by  exercise  upon  things  without.  The  cater- 
pillar will  weave  of  itself  and  out  of  itself  a  mar- 
vellous cocoon,  but  not  until  it  has  fed  liberally 
upon  the  leaves  that  form  its  appropriate  food. 
And  the  human  mind,  however  naturally  endowed, 
can  put  forth  nothing  worthy  either  of  itself  or  its 
Creator  until  it  has  gone  forth  in  the  exercise  of 
its  powers  and  fed  upon  the  truths  that  offer  them- 
selves for  its  action.  These  truths,  gathered  up 
and  stored  away  in  the  mind  and  there  digested  by 
meditation,  develop  the  powers  and  put  into  their 


THE  CONFLICT.  301 

hands  the  materials  with  wliich  it  may  erect  its 
structures,  and  form  the  enginery  with  which  to 
subdue  other  minds  to  its  own  way  of  thinking, 
and  thus  mould  and  shape  the  actings  of  society. 
The  larger  this  store  of  truths  acquired  and  mas- 
tered, and  the  greater  their  intrinsic  magnitude,^ 
the  more  truly  is  the  possessor  a  man. 

Nature  is  a  vast  volume  of  truths,  well  worthy 
our  study,  for  they  all  come  from  God.  But  if 
light  from  created  objects  is  bright  and  life-giving, 
how  much  more  that  which  rays  into  the  mind 
from  God,  the  luminous  centre  of  all !  If  it  en- 
larges and  elevates  the  mind  to  study  the  creature, 
how  much  more  to  study  God  I  Thus  religion  is 
one  of  the  most  efficient  of  educators.  "  But  if  the 
light  that  is  in  thee  be  darkness,  how  great  is  that 
darkness  !"  To  substitute  for  God  something  that 
is  not  God,  whether  a  creature  of  God  or  of  the 
perverted  imagination — a  dream,  a  nonentity — and 
with  it  eno-ross  the  hiij^hest  faculties  of  the  soul,  is 
at  once  to  cheat  the  spirit  with  delusions  and  to 
dwarf  instead  of  develop  and  enlarge  its  powers. 

One  of  the  many  charges  that  reason  and  re- 
ligion lay  at  the  door  of  Romanism  is,  that  it  keeps 
the  people  out  of  the  fruitful  fields  of  truth,  and 
Bends   them   forth   to  starve  in  the  dry,  herbless 


302  JENNY  GEDDES. 

deserts  of  error  and  human  dreams.  Visit  any 
province  where  it  works  its  unhindered  will,  and 
■what  grovelling  worms  they  become !  But  Pro- 
testantism withdrew  Luthers,  Zwinglis  and  Cal- 
vins  from  mumbling  masses,  counting  beads  and 
kneeling  before  pictures  and  images,  and  confront- 
ing their  minds  with  the  grand  verities  of  revela- 
tion, converted  them  into  kings  unto  God. 

And  for  the  people  of  no  country  did  the  Refor- 
mation a  greater  work  than  for  those  of  Scotland. 
From  the  beginning  there  was  not  wanting  in  that 
land  of  cloud  and  storm,  wild  glen,  rock  and 
mountain,  a  natural  intellectual  energy  second  to 
that  of  no  other  country ;  but  not  only  had  Roman- 
ism taken  no  step  for  its  development — not  only 
had  it  suffered  the  masses  to  lie  enveloped  in  igno- 
rance— but  in  its  grovelling  mummeries  had  en- 
feebled, degraded  and  dwarfed  their  powers.  But 
the  era  of  the  Reformation  there  was  the  era  of 
men.  The  play  of  its  vast  and  mighty  truths  upon 
the  mind  of  her  commons  advanced  them  into  the 
condition  of  a  j^^ople,  endowing  them  with  intelli- 
gence, developing  their  acuteness  and  harnessing 
their  energies  to  the  car  of  truth.  And  the  hitherto 
despotic  nobles  soon  learned  that  a  power  was 
growing  into  existence  which   must  in  future  be 


THE  CONFLICT.  303 

consulted  in  matters  in  which  it  was  expected  to 
bear  a  part,  and  which  not  unfrequently  laid  a  re- 
sistless prohibition  upon  aristocratic  turbulence 
and  crime.  And  not  unfrequently,  when  the  sa- 
gacity of  king  and  nobles,  and  even  of  some  of  the 
time-serving  ministers,  was  at  fault,  that  of  the  new 
Protestant  people  discerned  a  plain  path  of  pro- 
gress. And  here  and  there  noble  forms  arose 
above  the  common  mass,  and  became  the  Elijahs 
and  Elishas  of  their  day ;  and  among  many  other 
such  were  the  Melvilles,  Andrew  and  James,  uncle 
and  nephew. 

Andrew  was  born  in  1545,  the  youngest  of  nine 
sons.  When  only  two  years  of  age  his  father  fell 
in  battle,  and  his  mother  dying  soon  after,  he  was 
left  to  the  care  of  his  oldest  brother,  Richard,  who, 
with  his  wife,  acted  the  parent  to  the  parentless 
child.  Of  weakly  habit  of  body,  he  displayed  un- 
common energy  of  mind,  and  was  enabled  through 
his  brother's  aid  to  pursue  a  course  of  liberal  edu- 
cation. At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  entered  St. 
Mary's  College  of  the  University  of  St.  Andrew's, 
and,  at  the  close  of  his  course  there  was  pro- 
nounced the  ^^  best  philosopher,  poet  and  Grecian 
of  any  young  master  in  the  land."  Having  ac- 
quired what  learning  he  could  at  home,  at  the  age 


304  JENNY  QEDDES. 

of  nineteen  he  went  to  France,  and  spent  two  years 
at  the  University  of  Paris,  wlien  that  institution 
was  at  the  height  of  its  prosperity.  Thence  he 
went  to  Poictiers,  where  he  was  at  once  made  re- 
gent of  the  College  of  St.  Marceon.  Three  years 
after  we  find  him  at  Geneva,  in  the  chair  of  Hu- 
manity at  the  Academy.  Here  he  rose  to  distinc- 
tion as  an  Oriental  scholar;  studied  law  under 
some  of  the  most  famous  teachers  of  the  time ; 
thoroughly  discussed  the  great  questions  of  civil 
government,  and  there  drank  in  those  doctrines 
of  republicanism,  civil  and  religious,  which  in  after 
years  in  Scotland  he  so  ably  and  faithfully  illus- 
trated. Here,  also,  he  formed  the  acquaintance  of 
many  of  the  master  spirits  of  the  day,  and  a  life- 
long attachment  to  his  noble  friend,  Theodore 
Beza.  In  1574,  at  the  urgent  request  of  his 
friends,  he  returned  to  Scotland  —  when  King 
James  was  eight  years  old  and  INIorton  was  re- 
gent— bearing  a  letter  from  Beza  to  the  General 
Assembly,  in  which  his  friend  wrote  tliat  Melville 
was  equally  distinguished  for  piety  and  erudition, 
and  that  the  Church  of  Geneva  could  give  no 
stronger  proof  of  its  affection  for  her  sister  Church 
in  Scotland  than  by  suffering  herself  to  be  bereaved 
of  him,  that  his  native  country  might  be  enriched 


THE  CONFLICT.  305 

with  Ills  gifts.  Here  he  was  soon  appointed  by 
the  General  Assembly  principal  of  Glasgow  Col- 
lege, where,  by  his  talents,  energy  and  success,  he 
made  himself  felt  and  admired  throughout  the 
kingdom.  Distinguished  as  he  was  for  scholar- 
ship, he  became  even  more  distinguished  for  his 
knowledge  of  theological  and  ecclesiastical  prin- 
ciples, as  taught  in  the  Word  of  God  and  illus- 
trated in  the  Genevan  Church.  Master  also  of  a 
strong  voice,  a  fluent  elocution,  a  cogent,  incisive 
diction,  and  great  dialectic  skill,  and  of  great  ar- 
dour of  mind,  what  he  knew  he  could  so  utter  as 
not  only  to  leave  his  hearers  in  no  doubt  as  to  his 
meaning,  but  also  to  work  conviction  in  even  un- 
willing and  prejudiced  minds.  Though  low  of 
stature  and  slender  in  person,  he  possessed  great 
physical  energy,  and,  as  will  be  seen,  was  able, 
when  aroused,  by  his  amazing  intrepidity,  to  over- 
awe even  the  bad,  imperious  Morton,  the  inflated 
king  and  any  number  of  noble  sycophants  who 
clung  about  the  court.  And  withal  he  was,  next 
to  Knox,  the  great  champion  of  Presbyterianism, 
and  of  such  zeal  and  ability  in  this  cause  that  he 
was  wont  to  be  called  the  episcopomastix  —  the 
bishop-scourger. 

James  Melville  was  about  ten  years  the  junior 

20 


306  JENXY   GEDDES. 

of  his  uncle ;  the  son  of  Richard,  that  brother  of 
Andrew  to  wliom  the  latter  was  indebted  for  a 
home  and  an  education.  Living  in  the  same  house, 
uncle  and  nephew  came  to  love  each  other  with  a 
true  fraternal  affection,  and  James  clung  to  his 
uncle  Andrew  Avith  unswerving  fidelity  through 
all  the  hardships  of  a  most  eventful  career,  and 
left  on  record  many  of  the  facts  we  know  respect- 
ing him.  Entering  college,  the  youth  was  so  over- 
come to  find  that  he  could  not  understand  the  lec- 
tures delivered  in  Latin  that  he  burst  into  tears, 
seeing  which  the  regent  took  him  in  charge  and 
put  him  in  the  way  of  soon  mastering  the  diffi- 
culty. Hearing  Knox  preach  at  Aberdeen,  he  re- 
solved to  enter  the  pulj)it.  This  being  contrary  to 
the  wishes  of  his  father,  he  wrote  a  sermon  and 
placed  it  Avhcre  he  knew  his  father  would  find  it, 
and  by  this  stratagem  succeeded  in  his  desires.  In 
physical  stature  and  cast  of  countenance  he  strik- 
ingly resembled  his  uncle,  though  in  talents  and 
learning  he  was  inferior,  and  in  temper  of  spirit 
the  two  differed  as  Luther  and  Melancthon. 
James  was  mild  in  disposition  and  courtly  in 
demeanour.  Guilelessly'  upright  and  conscien- 
tious, he  was  true  as  steel  in  his  fidelity  to  his 
friends    and   to    the  cause  of  his   Master.     These 


THE  COyFLICT.  307 

two  men  we  shall  often  encounter  in  the  stirring 
scenes  of  subsequent  history. 

The  Assembly  which  met  in  March,  1575,  found 
again  its  courage,  and  with  its  courage  its  strength 
reviving  :  it  passed  an  act  requiring  the  knowledge 
of  Latin  in  every  person  appointed  to  a  benefice, 
for  the  tulchan  bishops  had  already  sanctioned  the 
introduction  of  even  servants  and  children  as  hold- 
ers of  benefices.  The  convention  of  estates,  tired 
of  the  unsettled  condition  of  ecclesiastical  affairs, 
urged  that  some  definite  scheme  be  fixed  upon  to 
remove  the  perplexing  uncertainties  constantly  re- 
sulting in  controversy  and  collision  ;  and  the  regent 
sent  to  the  Assembly  a  demand  that  they  ratify  the 
Leith  system  or  draw  up  a  jilan  upon  which 
they  would  unite  and  by  which  they  were  will- 
ing to  abide.  They  accordingly  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  frame  an  outline  of  policy  and  discipline, 
and  report  the  result  to  them,  for  even  the  bold 
Morton  did  not  venture  to  impose  a  system  upon 
the  Church. 

In  the  Assembly  in  August  the  question  as  to 
bishops  was  taken  up  and  discussed;  and  Melville 
asked: 

"  Have  bishops,  as  they  are  now  in  Scotland, 
their  functions  from   the  Word   of  God  or  not? 


308  jEyyY  geddes. 

and  ought  the  chapters  appointed  for  electing  them 
to  be  tolerated  in  a  Reformed  Church? 

"  He  was  satisfied/'  he  said,  '^  that  jirelacy  had 
no  foundation  in  Scripture,  and  that  its  tendency 
was  extremely  doubtful,  if  not  necessarily  hurtful. 
The  words  bishop  and  presbyter  are  interchange- 
ably used  in  the  New  Testament,  and  the  popular 
arguments  for  episcopacy  are  founded  on  ignorance 
of  the  original  language  of  Scripture.  It  was  the 
opinion  of  Jerome  and  other  Fathers  that  all  min- 
isters of  the  gospel  were  at  first  equal,  and  that  the 
superiority  of  bishops  originated  in  custom  and  not 
in  divine  appointment. 

"  The  same  principles  which  justify,  and  the 
same  measures  which  led  to  the  extension  of  the 
bishop's  power  over  all  the  pastors  of  a  diocese, 
will  justify  and  lead  to  the  establishment  of  an 
archbishop,  metropolitan  or  patriarch  over  a  pro- 
vince or  kingdom,  and  of  a  universal  bishop  or 
pope  over  the  whole  Christian  world. 

'^  The  maintenance  of  the  hierarchy  in  England 
he  could  not  but  consider  as  one  cause  of  the  rarity 
of  preaching,  the  poverty  of  the  lower  orders  of 
the  clergy,  pluralities,  want  of  discipline  and  other 
abuses,  which  had  produced  dissensions  and  heart- 
burnings in  that  flourishing   kingdom.     And  he 


THE  CONFLICT.  309 

was  convinced  that  the  best  and  only  way  of  re- 
dressing grievances  in  Scotllind  was  to  strike  at 
the  root  of  the  evil  by  abolishing  prelacy  and  re- 
storing that  parity  of  work  and  authority  which 
existed  at  the  beginning  among  all  the  pastors  of 
the  Church.'^ 

Thus  spoke  the  episcopomastix,  and  his  words 
Avent  deep  into  many  minds.  Knox  was  still 
alive !  But  on  this  subject  the  yet  too  timid  As- 
sembly dared  no  very  decided  reply.  Morton  now 
used  his  utmost  endeavours  to  shut  the  mouth  of 
Melville.  It  was  little  to  be  rid  of  Knox  if  his 
successor  was  to  stand  in  his  place.  Accordingly, 
he  plied  Melville  with  courtesies  and  bribes.  He 
oifered  him  the  living  of  Govan,  and  then,  on  the 
death  of  Douglas,  Archbishop  of  St.  Andrew^s,  he 
offered  him  that  tulchanship.  He  would  have 
given  him  anything  but  the  regency  and  the  Church 
revenues,  both  of  which  he  wanttxl  for  himself. 
But  he  found  that  he  could  no  more  easily  cajole 
than  he  could  daunt  the  honest,  intrepid  Melville. 

In  the  next  Assembly  the  question  of  Melville 
respecting  the  title  of  bishop  was  partially  answered 
as  follows  :  ^'  The  name  of  bishop  is  common  to  all 
who  are  appointed  to  take  charge  of  a  particular 
flock  in  preaching  the  Word,  administering  sacra- 


310  JENNY  GEDDES. 

ments  and  exercising  discipline  with  the  consent 
of  their  elders,  and  '  this  is  their  chief  function 
according  to  the  Word  of  God."  To  the  discus- 
sions on  this  subject  six  tulchan  bishops  listened, 
and  had  no  word  to  say  in  defence  of  the  titles 
they  bore,  themselves  well  knowing,  and  knowing 
that  all  others  knew,  that  the  prelatic  feathers  they 
wore  were  the  gaudy  decorations  of  sycophants, 
who,  while  disloyal  to  their  Church,  fawned  on 
wicked  worldly  lords,  and  were  the  mere  channels 
through  which  the  money  of  the  Church  flowed 
into  the  coffers  of  their  masters. 

The  Church  and  the  regent  soon  came  again 
into  collision.  Adamson,  who  had  spoken  so  sar- 
castically about  "  my  lord's  bishop,"  when  the  oppor- 
tunity presented  itself  to  him  of  becoming  a  lord's 
bishop,  could  not  resist  the  temptation,  and,  on 
Morton's  presentation,  accepted  the  archbishop- 
ric of  St.  Andrew's.  The  Assembly  required  him 
to  submit  to  their  examination.  He  refused  because 
his  master  forbade.  The  Assembly  then  forbade 
the  chapter  to  proceed  in  the  matter,  and  the  chap- 
ter proceeded  in  spite  of  the  Assembly's  prohibit 
tion.  Then,  at  the  meeting  in  April,  1577,  it  in- 
terdicted his  lordship  from  the  exercise  of  his  tul- 
ehanshlp  until   regularly  admitted  by  the  Church, 


THE  COSFLICT.  311 

and  a  commission  was  appointed  to  summon  him 
before  it  and  adjudicate  upon  his  case. 

The  regent,  having  failed  to  bribe,  now  attempted 
to  intimidate  Melville.  The  former  complained 
that  the  Church  was  kept  in  confusion  by  certain 
persons  bent  on  introducing  their  own  fancies  and 
foreign  laws.  The  latter  replied  that  he  and  his 
brethren  took  Scripture,  and  not  fancy,  for  their 
guide.  Morton  said  that  the  Assembly  was  a  body 
of  the  king's  subjects,  and  that  it  was  treasonable 
for  them  to  meet  without  his  permission.  Melville 
replied  that  if  this  were  so,  then  Christ  and  his 
apostles  were  guilty  of  treason,  for  they  called  to- 
gether great  crowds  and  taught  them  without  per- 
mission of  the  magistrates.  Morton,  biting  the 
head  of  his  staff,  growled,  in  that  deep  undertone 
which  marked  his  occasional  fits  of  cold,  black, 
ruthless  anger,  "There  will  never  be  quietness  in 
this  country  till  half  a  dozen  of  you  be  hanged  or 
banished.'' 

"Tush,  sir!"  answered  Melville;  "threaten  your 
courtiers  after  that  manner !  It  is  the  same  to  me 
whether  I  rot  in  the  air  or  in  the  ground.  The 
earth  is  the  Lord's.  My  country  is  wherever  good- 
ness is.  I  have  been  ready  to  give  my  life  where 
it  would  not  Ije  half  so  Avell  expended.     Let  God 


312  JEXSY  GEDDES. 

be  glorified  ;  it  will  not  be  in  your  power  to  liang 
or  exile  his  truth."  Knox  was  dead,  but  Morton 
mio;ht  sav  ao^ain,  "Here  is  one  that  does  not  fear  the 
face  of  man !'' 

Knowing  that  others  would  catch  this  spirit,  the 
regent  dissembled  with  the  Assembly  in  regard  to 
their  new  book  of  policy,  but  he  got  his  tulchan 
Adamson  to  frame  a  series  of  captious  questions,  to 
which  he  demanded  their  rei)ly.  But  by  this  time 
he  had  made  himself  so  odious  by  his  avarice  and 
tyranny  to  the  mass  of  the  people  and  of  the  no- 
bility that  the  earls  of  Argyle  and  Athol  induced 
the  young  king  to  call  a  council  of  the  nobility  at 
Stirling  to  consider  the  condition  of  affairs,  to  which 
council  only  the  enemies  of  Morton  were  invited. 
Paralyzed  by  the  knowledge  of  his  crimes  and  the 
consequent  strength  of  his  foes,  he  wrote  to  the 
king,  begging  to  be  alloAved  to  resign  the  regency. 
Delighted  at  this  turn  of  affairs,  tlic  council  deter- 
mined that  his  resignation  should  be  accepted,  and 
that  the  king,  now  twelve  years  old,  should  assume 
the  reins  of  government.  Hardly,  however,  had 
Morton  sent  his  resignation  than  he  regretted  it ; 
but  it  was  now  too  late  to  mend  the  matter,  for  the 
young  king,  flattered  with  the  suggestion  of  the 
council,  accepted  it,  because  he  said  he  saw  no  other 


THE  CONFLICT.  313 

way  througli  tlie  complicated  disorders  of  the  realm. 
The  king,  however,  gave  him  a  full  pardon,  and 
declared  him  incapable  of  being  accused  and  brought 
to  trial  for  anything  he  had  done,  the  nobility 
pledging  themselves,  under  a  bond  of  five  hundred 
thousand  pounds,  to  procure  a  ratification  of  this 
pardon  and  assurance  at  the  first  meeting  of  Par- 
liament. Thus  fell  this  bold,  unscrupulous,  tyran- 
nical regent,  and  the  State  and  the  Church  passed, 
on  the  sixth  of  March,  1578,  under  the  sway  of 
King  James  VI. 

JAMES  VI. 

King  James  was  a  man  whom  Presbyterianism 
can  never  forget,  and  never  remember  but  with 
mingled  contempt  and  indignation.  His  father 
was  the  wicked,  silly,  wretched  Darnley.  His 
mother  was  the  beautiful,  accomplished,  licentious 
Mary  Queen  of  Scots.  Pie  was  born  during  that 
fearful  period  of  her  life  between  the  murder  of 
'Rizzio  and  the  murder  by  her  and  Both  well  of  her 
husband.  He  was  baptized  according  to  Romish 
forms.  He  was  reared  amidst  the  smoke  and  bat- 
tle of  ever-blazing  civil  war.  That  he  should  be- 
come something  very  good,  very  bad  or  very  great, 
there  was  no  little  reason  to  expect.     And  during 


314  JKNNY  GEDDES. 

his  early  years  there  were  some  signs  of  promise 
and  liope.  Before  his  mother's  marriage  with 
Bothwell,  he  was  committed  to  the  custody  of  the 
earl  of  Mar  in  Stirling  castle,  where  he  was  kept 
durino:  successive  retj^encies  to  the  time  of  his  sue- 
cession  to  the  throne  at  the  age  of  tAvelve;  his  edu- 
cation conducted,  under  the  direction  of  Alex- 
ander Erskine,  by  George  Buchanan,  a  man  of  won- 
derful versatility  of  talent,  of  varied  and  profound 
learning,  aided  by  three  others  of  the  most  distin- 
guished scholars  in  Scotlajid.  Such  advantages 
probably  made  of  the  royal  youth  all  that  the  ma- 
terial was  capable  of.  ^^He  discovered  an  aptitude 
for  tlie  languages,*'  and  outstripped  most  youths  of 
his  age  in  general  knowledge.  But  his  manhood 
soon  dissipated  all  hope  of  good.  Excessively  vain, 
he  was  ahvavs  boastino^  of  his  kino;craft.  He  was  un- 
gainly  in  person  and  a  boor  in  manners,  and  deficient 
in  personal  courage,  '^stammering,  slabbering,  shed- 
ding unmanly  tears,  trembling  at  a  drawn  sword, 
and  talking  in  the  style  alternately  of  a  buffoon  and 
a  pedagogue.  Of  dignity  and  elevation  of  mind 
he  had  no  conception.  His  tastes,  opinions  and 
habits  were  alike  low  and  vulgar.''  Without  vigour 
of  mind  or  any  attribute  of  statesmanship,  he  had 
not  sense  enough  to  refrain  from  pretentious  claims 


THE  COXFLICT.  315 

to  authority  wliioh  lie  had  no  power  to  enforce. 
Utterly  perfidious,  he  was  a  low  despot.  In  his 
books,  "The  Free  Law  of  Free  Monarchies'^  and 
"Basilicon  Doron,"  he  claimed  that  a  free  mon- 
archy is  the  government  of  a  free  and  absolute 
monarch,  in  which  the  will  of  the  sovereign  is  above 
all  law,  and  that  a  principal  part  of  his  function 
consisted  in  ruling  the  Church. 

Such  was  the  character  now  under  course  of  de- 
velopment with  which  the  Church  was  destined  to 
deal. 

The  commission  appointed  to  prepare  a  complete 
system  of  discipline  reported  to  the  Assembly,  in 
April,  1578,  and  the  report  having  been  carefully 
considered  and  discussed  was  adopted  by  the  As- 
sembly, and  became  the  well-known  "Second 
Book  of  Discipline/'  and  from  that  time  it  has 
been  the  authorized  standard  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland.  The  Assembly  also  ordered  that  "the 
bishops''  be  henceforth  addressed  in  the  same  style 
as  other  ministers,  and  that,  in  case  of  vacancy,  the 
chapters  should  elect  no  other  till  their  next  meet- 
ing. It  was  also  ordered  that  the  book  be  laid 
before  the  king  and  council ;  and  commissioners 
were  appointed  to  conduct  any  conference  that 
might  be  desired.    Perhaps,  in  their  circumstances, 


316  JENNY  GEDDES. 

it  was  necessary  to  seek  the  royal  signature  to  their 
book  as  a  defence  against  worldly,  Avicked  nobles. 
But  in  our  day  we  cannot  help  feeling  that  a  more 
bold  and  decided  course,  asserting  what  they  would 
adhere  to  without  reference  to  the  secular  power, 
would  have  been  wiser  and  safer. 

In  the  following  June  the  Assembly  did  what 
they  should,  as  we  think,  have  done  long  before — 
in  forbidding  from  thenceforth  all  election  of 
men  to  the  unscriptural,  and  in  Scotland  illegal, 
office  of  bishop.  It  further  ordained  that  those  in 
office  should  submit  to  the  Assembly  in  matters 
relating  to  "  the  corruption  of  that  estate  of  bishops 
in  their  own  persons  under  pain  of  being  excom- 
municated." To  this  the  so-called  bishop  of  Dun- 
blane at  once  submitted. 

The  result  of  the  conference  between  the  Church 
commissioners  and  those  of  the  Parliament  re- 
specting the  Book  of  Discipline  was,  on  the  whole, 
satisfactory,  and  the  Parliament  then  sitting  at 
Stirling  ratified  and  approved  all  the  acts  and 
statutes  previously  made,  agreeably  to  God's  Word, 
for  the  maintenance  of  the  "  true  Kirk  of  God.'' 

But  now  a  dark  shadow  fell  upon  the  Church. 
Morton  reappeared  upon  the  scene  and  was  taken 
into  favour  by  the  king,  who  was  always  a  mere 


THE  CONFLICT.  317 

chameleon,  taking  on  the  hues  of  tlie  persons  and 
circnimstances  immediately  around  him.  Through 
his  influence,  the  changeful  monarch  arrested  the 
Assembly  in  its  exercise  of  discipline  upon  the 
tulchan  bishops,  and  fl)rbade  them  to  proceed  to 
excommunication  for  disorder  and  disobedience. 
But  the  next  Assembly  took  its  rightful  stand,  and, 
while  remonstrating  with  his  majesty  against  his 
interference  with  their  inherent  rights,  proceeded 
with  its  work.  Thus  Presbyterian  republicanism 
stood  face  to  face  with  wilful  monarchy.  The  next 
Parliament  sustained  the  Assembly. 

But  tlie  veteran  sinner,  Morton,  acquired  a  dis- 
astrous influence  over  the  weak  and  fickle  king, 
and  by  flattery  made  himself  potent  among  the 
intriguing,  wire-pulling  courtiers.  With  Morton, 
Esme  Stewart,  duke  of  Lennox — brought  up  ia 
France  a  Romanist,  but  now  a  nominal  Protest- 
ant— and  Captain  James  Stewart,  afterward  earl 
of  Arran,  a  bold,  licentious,  crafty,  criminal,  am- 
bitious politician,  shared  in  the  control  of  the 
royal  puppet. 

Seeing  how  things  stood,  the  Assembly  passed 
an  act  declaring  the  pseudo-prelacy  illegal  and  des- 
titute of  all  warrant  in  the  Word  of  God,  a  mere 
human  invention,  introduced  by  folly  and  corrup- 


318  JENNY  OEDDES. 

tion,  and  tending  to  injury;  and  ordered  all  holders 
of  such  pretended  office  to  resign  their  positions, 
and  appointed  the  places  and  times  at  which  they 
should  appear  before  the  provincial  synods  and 
signify  their  submission  to  this  act.  This  act  was 
passed,  after  full  discussion,  without  one  dissenting 
voice.  The  mantle  of  Knox  had  now  fallen  on  the 
Assembly.  And  such  is  the  majesty  and  miglit 
of  courage,  when  on  the  side  of  right,  before  the 
year  closed  the  whole  tribe  of  tulchans,  with  the 
exception  of  five,  had  submitted. 

In  1581,  the  Assembly,  without  waiting  longer 
on  king,  council  and  Parliament,  ordained  that 
the  Secoxd  Book  of  Disciplixe  be  formally 
registered  among  the  permanent  laws  of  the 
Church,  and  copies  thereof  to  be  taken  by  each 
of  the  presbyteries.  Feeling  the  influence  of  the 
Assembly,  as  James  always  felt  every  wind  that 
blew,  he  requested  it,  through  his  commissioner, 
to  bring  the  ecclesiastical  discipline  into  more 
effective  exercise  over  the  realm,  and  the  Assembly 
at  once  erected  thirteen  presbyteries,  and  recom- 
mended the  early  extension  of  the  system  over  the 
kingdom.  Thus  unwittingly  did  James  help  to 
build  the  walls  he  afterward  sought  in  vain  to 
overthrow. 


THE  COSFLICT.  319 

The  Assembly  also  ratified  ^'  Cralg^s  Confession 
of  Faith'^ — known  also  as  "  The  First  National 
Covenant  of  ScoflancV^ — as  an  open  protest  against 
the  more  or  less  open  hostility  of  the  duke  of  Len- 
nox and  other  nobles  to  Presbyterian  ism.  This 
covenant  was  signed  by  the  king,  his  household, 
and  by  the  greater  part  of  the  nobility  and  gentry 
of  tlie  realm. 

In  that  great  standard,  the  Second  Book  of 
Discipline,  it  is  asserted  that  Christ  has  ap- 
pointed a  government  in  his  Church  distinct  from 
that  of  the  State — to  be  exercised  not  by  civil, 
but  bv  ecclesiastical  officers  ;  that  civil  ijovernment 
exists  for  the  promotion  of  external  peace,  ecclesias- 
tical for  the  direction  of  men  in  matters  of  re- 
ligion; that  both  should  co  operate  with  and  for- 
tify each  other;  that  in  external  matters,  ministers 
are  subject  to  the  State,  in  religious  matters  magis- 
trates are  subject,  like  other  men,  to  the  Church. 
It  divides  the  management  of  church  affairs  iwto 
three  branches — doctrine,  discipline  and  distribu- 
tion: for  the  first,  preachers  are  ordained;  for  the 
second,  ruling  elders  with  the  preachers;  and,  for 
the  third,  deacons  to  manage  the  benevolent  and 
other  funds  of  the  Church.  The  name  bishop 
is  equally  applicable  to  all  pastors.    These  office- 


320  JEN2sY  GEDDES. 

bearers  are  to  be  admitted  by  election  and  ordina- 
lion,  and  none  to  be  obtruded  upon  the  people 
contrary  to  their  will.  The  ruling  officers  are  to 
be  grouped  first  into  presbyteries,  for  inspection 
and  discipline  of  the  churches  within  their  bounds; 
second,  into  synods,  which  include  more  or  fewer 
presbyteries,  and  are  larger  presbyteries ;  and,  ovei 
all,  the  General  Assembly,  composed  of  commis- 
sioners, ministers  and  elders,  to  represent  and  act 
for  the  Church  as  a  whole.  Appeals  may  lie  from 
the  loAvest  through  all  above  to  the  highest  court, 
the  General  Assembly,  from  which  there  is  no  ap- 
peal. The  Assembly  may  meet  at  its  own  option 
as  to  time  and  ])]ace.  The  patrimony  of  the 
Church  includes  what  has  l)een  appropriated  to 
her  use,  to  divert  whicli  to  secular  purposes  is  a 
crime.  Besides  these  matters  various  abuses  are 
specified  as  needing  removal. 

Such  is  the  thoroughly  scriptural  and  presby- 
terial  form  of  government  and  discipline  adopted 
by  the  mind  and  into  the  heart  of  Scotland,  and 
Avhich,  when  wrested  from  the  people  by  violence, 
has  always  been  regrasped  when  better  days  came 
and  circumstances  allowed.  It  has  been  hated  by 
men  in  proportion  to  the  worldliness  and  wicked- 
ness of  their   heart  and   character,  and   loved   in 


THE  CONFLICT.  321 

proportion  as  they  have  loved  Christ  and  his 
cause. 

It  was  therefore,  of  course,  hated  and  dreaded 
by  King  James  and  his  unscrupulous  courtiers, 
and  by  those  ^^  cringing  sycophants,  the  tulchan 
bishops."  For  under  it  the  bishops  lost  their 
lordly  titles,  the  avaricious  nobles  the  rich  gains 
of  tulchanism,  and  the  king  his  despotic  mastery 
over  the  Church.  Hence  they  resolved  to  measure 
strength  with  tlie  Assembly  when  opportunity 
should  offer,  and  it  soon  offered ;  for,  in  June, 
of  this  very  year,  Boyd,  archbishoj)  (so  called)  of 
Glasgow,  died,  and  the  duke  of  Lennox  secured 
from  the  council  a  grant  of  the  revenues.  But  for 
this  he  must  have  a  tulchan;  and  after  some 
searching  Lenox  found  a  creature  '^reckless  and 
knavish"  enough  to  serve  the  turn,  in  the  person 
of  one  Robert  Montgomery,  minister  of  Stirling — 
a  'Wain,  feeble,  presumptuous"  man — who  stooped 
to  become  the  "  base  instrument  of  a  licentious 
courtier's  sacrilegious  avarice." 

The  Assembly  interposed,  called  Montgomery  to 
its  bar,  forbade  him  to  accept  the  office  and  ordered 
him  not  to  leave  his  charge  at  Stirling,  and  remit- 
ted the  case  to  the  Presbytery  of  Stirling  to  be 
dealt  with  according  to  its  merits. 

21 


322  JENXY  GEDDES. 

But  the  lords  were  not  to  be  so  easily  beaten  at 
their  game,  and  tlie  Synod  of  Lothian  was  cited 
before  the  privy  council  for  interfering  with  Mont- 
gomery in  obedience  to  the  Assembly.  They  ap- 
peared and  protested  their  readiness  to  yield  all 
lawful  obedience  to  the  government,  but  declined 
the  judgment  of  the  council  as  incompetent  to  act 
in  a  case  purely  ecclesiastical. 

In  April,  1582,  the  Assembly  met  and  were  en- 
countered by  a  mandate  from  his  majesty  forbid- 
ding them  to  proceed  against  Montgomery.  They 
answered,  like  men,  that  they  must  do  their  duty. 
Then  came  the  king's  messenger-at-arms,  com- 
manding them  to  desist  on  pain  of  rebellion.  They 
responded  to  the  despotic  mandate  by  ratifying  the 
sentence  of  the  presbytery  snspcnding  Montgomery 
from  the  ministry,  and  by  finding  eight  (charges 
against  him  proved,  and  declaring  him  liable  to 
deposition  and  excommunication.  Upon  this  the 
wretched  culprit  hastened  to  the  Assembly,  and, 
acknowledging  that  he  had  offended  against  God 
and  the  Church,  begged  that  the  sentence  might 
not  be  pronounced,  and  promised  to  play  the  tul- 
chan  no  more.  The  sentence  was  accordingly  sus- 
pended, and  the  Presbytery  of  Glasgow  was  charged 
to  watch   the  conduct  of  Montgomery,  and,  if  he 


THE  COyFLICT.  323 

violated  his  promise^  to  appoint  one  of  their  num- 
ber to  proceed  with  the  excommunication.  How- 
refreshing  to  see  Presbyterianism  truly  itself  in  the 
presence  of  civil  despotism ! 

But  the  contest  was  not  yet  over;  for  on  the  ad- 
journment of  the  Assembly,  Montgomery,  not  able 
to  withstand  the  temptation  to  the  dignity  within  his 
reach,  broke  his  promise;  and  when  the  Presl)ytery 
of  Glasgow  met  to  pronounce  the  penalty,  he,  w^ith 
an  order  from  the  king  to  stay  their  proceedings, 
entered  the  house  at  the  head  of  an  armed  force, 
and,  when  the  presbytery  refused  to  obey  the  order, 
dragged  the  moderator  from  his  seat,  beat  him  and 
cast  him  into  prison.  But  the  presbytery  Avent  on 
notwithstanding,  found  him  guilty  and  transmitted 
the  result  to  the  Presbytery  of  Edinburgh,  which 
pronounced  the  sentence  and  published  it  in  all 
surrounding  churches. 

A  proclamation  from  the  council  pronounced  the 
excommunication  null  and  void.  The  ministers  of 
Edinburgh  were  insulted,  and  John  Dury  banished 
from  the  capital  and  forbidden  to  preach. 

But  these  tyrannical  measures,  instead  of  break- 
ing the  spirit  of  the  Church,  only  increased  their 
courage  and  resolution.  An  extraordinary  meeting 
of  the  Assembly  convened  and  transmitted  to  the 


324  JEXNY  GEDDES. 

youthful  tyrant  on  the  throne  a  manly  remonstrance, 
in  which  they  said  : 

"  Your  majesty,  by  device  of  some  councillors,  is 
caused  to  take  upon  you  a  spiritual  power  and  au- 
thority which  properly  belongeth  unto  Christ,  as 
only  King  and  Head  of  the  Church,  the  ministry 
and  execution  whereof  is  only  given  unto  such  as 
bear  office  in  the  ecclesiastical  government  in  the 
same.  So  that  in  your  highness'  person  some  men 
press  to  erect  a  new  popedom,  as  though  your  high- 
ness could  not  be  full  king  and  head  of  this  com- 
monwealth unless  as  well  the  spiritual  as  temporal 
sword  be  put  into  your  highness'  hands — unless 
Christ  be  bereft  of  his  authority,  and  the  two  juris- 
dictions confounded  which  God  hath  divided,  which 
directly  tendeth  to  the  wreck  of  all  true  religion." 

With  such  bold  and  honest  plainness  could  Pres- 
byterianism  speak  to  the  king  upon  his  throne ! 
This  remonstrance  was  put  into  the  hands  of  Mel- 
ville and  others  to  present  to  the  king.  Such  was 
the  indignation  of  the  courtiers  when  informed  of 
these  proceedings  that  many  people  feared  for  the 
lives  of  the  deputation,  and  some  begged  them  not 
to  venture  into  the  lion's  den.  But  Melville  an- 
swered : 

^'  I  am  not  afraid,  thank  God,  nor  feeble-spirited 


THE  CONFLICT.  325 

in  the  cause  and  message  of  Christ;  come  what 
God  pleases  to  send,  our  commission  shall  be  exe- 
cuted." 

When  they  had  read  their  remonstrance  to  the 
king  in  council,  Arran,  with  a  fierce  frown  upon  his 
wicked  brow,  looked  over  the  assembly  and  ex- 
claimed : 

"  Who  dares  subscribe  these  treasonable  articles?" 

^'  AVe  dare !"  said  Melville,  and  walking  up  to 
the  table,  put  down  his  name,  and  in  this  was  at 
once  followed  by  the  other  commissioners. 

The  scowl  on  Arran's  face  sunk  at  once  from  that 
of  ^^domineering  sternness"  to  that  of  awed  and 
"  baffled  malice."  The  commission  was  dismissed, 
and  certain  Englishmen  present  were  amazed  at 
the  bold  front  of  the  men  of  God,  and  could  hardly 
believe  that  armed  men  were  not  at  hand  to  defend 
them. 

When  they  were  gone,  a  warrant  was  given  to 
Lennox  to  hold  a  chamberlain's  court  at  Edin- 
burgh, to  ^'  inquire  into  the  late  sedition  and  have 
its  authors  duly  punished.'' 

Darkness  seemed  now  gathering  over  the  Church. 
The  king,  in  the  hands  of  the  ungodly  Arran  and 
Lennox,  seemed  ready  to  follow  their  counsels  even 
to  blood. 


S^B  JEXXY   GEDDES. 

But  while  man  proposetL,  God  disposeth.  Again, 
as  so  often  in  the  history  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
the  wickedness  of  its  foes  spent  itself  upon  them- 
selves. While  Presbyterianism  was  battling  it  for 
God  and  his  cause,  the  nobles  were  maliciously  in- 
triguing against  one  another.  The  wicked  Mor- 
ton, after  regaining  his  power,  at  last  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  merciless  Arran  and  was  brought  to 
execution,  saying,  in  almost  the  very  words  of  Wol- 
sey,  "  Had  I  been  as  careful  to  serve  my  God  as  I 
was  to  serve  the  king's  weal,  I  had  not  been  brought 
to  the  point  I  am  to-day."  But  Arran  and  Len- 
nox had  made  themselves  as  odious  to  the  great 
body  of  the  nobles  as  Morton  was  to  them  ;  and 
their  turn  was  now  to  come.  Stimulated  by  the 
heroic  boldness  of  the  ministers,  the  Protestant  no- 
bles shook  off  their  cowardly  supineness,  and  re- 
solved to  rescue  the  king  from  the  grasp  of  these 
two  corrupt  favourites.  Accordingly,  they  came 
upon  his  majesty  as  he  was  engaged  in  hunting, 
and  invited  him  to  Ruthven  Castle.  The  king  un- 
suspectingly complied.  But  when,  the  next  morn- 
ing, he  prepared  to  betake  himself  again  to  the  field, 
the  nobles  met  him  and  presented  a  memorial 
against  the  tyrannical  conduct  of  the  favourites. 
The  king  answered  graciously,  and  was  about  still 


THE  CONFLICT.  327 

to  go  forth  to  his  sport  when  he  was  informed  that 
he  must  remain  where  he  was.  Upon  this  he 
threatened,  expostulated  and  burst  into  tears.  To 
his  tears  the  Master  of  Glammis  answered : 

*'  It  is  no  matter  of  your  tears ;  better  bairns 
weep  than  bearded  men." 

Hearing  of  the  "  Raid  of  Ruthven,"  Lennox  set 
out  full  of  arrogance,  and,  narrowly  escaping  an 
ambush  on  the  way,  reached  Ruthven  Castle,  at- 
tended by  a  single  servant.  Here  he  would  have 
been  slain  upon  the  spot  but  for  the  intercession 
of  the  earl  of  Gowrie,  and  he  was  permitted  to  re- 
tire, and  soon  went  to  France  and  died  of  fatigue  or 
chagrin,  or  both  together.  Arran  was  sent  to  con- 
finement in  Stirling  Castle.  The  king,  as  usual, 
submitted  to  circumstances,  and  issued  a  declaration 
that  he  was  under  no  restrictions — that  the  lords 
had  done  good  service  to  himself  and  the  common- 
wealth. A  proclamation  was  also  issued  annulling 
all  the  late  despotic  measures  and  staying  all  hos- 
tile proceedings  against  the  Church.  Thus  the 
chamberlain's  court  was  not  held,  and  the  heroism 
of  Melville  and  his  compeers  was  abundantly  re- 
warded. 

When  the  Assembly  next  met,  the  lords  connected 
with  the  Raid  of  Ruthven  sent  to  them  a  deputa- 


328  JENNY  GEDDES. 

tioii  to  explain  tlie  grounds  of  their  conduct,  assert- 
ing, one  and  all,  that  they  were  moved  thereto  by 
the  evident  dangers  gathering  around  both  Church 
and  State,  and  asked  their  approval.  Before  reply- 
ing, the  Assembly  sent  to  the  king  to  know  his 
judgment  in  the  matter.  The  king  having  an- 
swered that  in  his  opinion  religion  and  his  owji 
person  had  been  in  peril,  and  that  it  was  the  duty 
of  all  to  unite  in  their  rescue  and  in  reforming  the 
commonwealth,  they  passed  an  act  declaring  their 
approbation  of  the  enterprise. 

The  Assembly  then  entered  upon  the  trial  and 
deposition  of  the  corrupt  prelates,  and  the  wretched 
Montgomery  again  submitted,  begging  pardon  and 
reinstalment  in  the  Church  and  ministry.  The 
convention  of  the  estates  soon  met,  and  in  the  fullest 
manner  sanctioned  the  Raid  of  E-uthven  and  relieved 
its  participants  from  all  actions,  civil  or  criminal, 
against  them  in  the  matter. 

For  the  present  all  was  quiet,  and  the  Church 
was  encouraged  by  the  king  to  go  forward  in  the 
work  of  reformation.  It  seemed  as  if  the  Court 
and  the  Church  were  henceforth  to  be  as  one,  and 
the  morning  star  of  hope  shone  brightly  out  upon 
the  sky. 


THE  CONFLICT.  329 

CX  O  VDS—STOJRM—S  TTNSHINE. 

True  to  his  constitutional  fickleness  and  hypoc- 
risy, James  continued  for  a  while  to  smile  on  the 
Church,  while  at  the  same  time  he  chafed  under 
the  restraints  of  her  pure  doctrine  and  scriptural 
discipline,  and  longed  for  the  companionship  of 
those  who,  while  they  corrupted  his  morals,  fed  his 
vain  soul  with  honeyed  flatteries.  In  our  day  a 
royal  smile  goes  for  what  it  is  worth,  but  then 
even  Scotchmen  had  not  yet  shaken  off  the  tradi- 
tional semi-superstitious  regards  for  the  purple. 
Hence  the  Protestants  allowed  themselves  to  be 
so  beguiled  by  the  king's  apparent  friendliness  as 
to  relax  their  vigilance  and  leave  an  open  door  for 
the  execution  of  his  subtle  designs. 

Having  secretly  invited  such  lords  as  he  thought 
he  could  trust  to  meet  him  at  St.  Andrew's,  he 
slipped  quietly  away  thither,  took  possession  of 
the  castle,  and  then,  contrary  to  the  advice  of  his 
best  friends,  he  invited  the  return  of  the  infamous 
Arran  and  threw  himself  into  his  arms.  The 
worst  enemy  of  both  Church  and  nation  was  now 
once  more  in  power.  So  suddenly  did  the  bright 
skies  gather  blackness !  An  insidious  pardon  was 
offered  to  the  actors  in  the  ^^  Raid  of  Ruthven," 


830  JENNY  GEDDES. 

whose  conduct  had  been  formally  approved  by  the 
king,  nobles  and  the  General  Assembly,  on  con- 
dition that  they  submit  with  repentance  and  con- 
fession !  Then  they  were  required,  by  a  new  pro- 
clamation, to  surrender  themselves  prisoners,  and 
all  who  refused  were  denounced  as  rebels.  Arran 
soon  got  himself  appointed  governor  of  Stirling 
Castle,  and  induced  the  poor  silly  king  to  take  up 
his  residence  there,  and  thus  put  himself  under  the 
full  personal  control  of  this  wicked  earl.  Hos- 
tilities were  commenced  also  against  the  Church. 
Andrew  Melville  was  cited  before  the  privy  council 
for  certain  alleged  treasonable  expressions.  He 
appeared  and  proved  his  innocence.  But  they, 
proceeding  to  a  formal  trial,  Melville  protested 
that,  as  a  minister,  he  should  be  first  tried  by  his 
brethren.  This  reply  angered  the  king  and  made 
Arran  furious.  But  Melville  was  not  a  man  to 
quail  in  the  presence  of  despots.  Unclasping  his 
Hebrew  Bible  from  his  girdle,  he  threw  it  upon 
the  table,  saying: 

''  These  are  my  instructions ;  see  if  any  of  you 
can  judge  of  them  or  show  that  I  have  passed 
my  injunctions." 

Seeing  that  he  could  not  be  frightened  into  tho 
withdrawal  of  his  protest,  they  found  him  guilty 


THE  CONFLICT.  331 

of  declining  the  judgment  of  the  council  and  of 
behaving  Irreverently  before  them,  and  condemned 
him  to  Imprisonment  in  Edinburgh  Castle,  and  to 
be  punished  In  person  and  goods  at  his  majesty's 
pleasure.  Learning  that  Arran  was  preparing  to 
send  him  to  Blackness  Castle,  kept  by  one  of  his 
creatures,  where  Melville  easily  divined  what  fate 
would  await  him,  he  fled  to  Berwick. 

The  kingdom  was  startled  by  these  measures  as 
by  a  thunderpeal !  The  ministers  prayed  In  the 
pulpits  for  Melville,  and  the  lament  was  loud  and 
universal  among  the  godly  that  the  misled  king 
had  driven  from  the  realm  its  most  learned  man 
and  the  ablest  defender  of  its  religion.  The  As- 
sembly, which  met  in  April,  was  imperiously  com- 
manded to  rescind  Its  act  approving  of  the  Kaid 
of  Ruthven,  and  to  pass  another  condemning  it  as 
treasonable.  They  had  barely  courage  enough  to 
decline  obedience  to  these  mandates,  and  broke  up 
and  withdrew  cast  down  and  dispirited.  Knox 
was  in  his  grave,  Melville  in  exile,  and  heroism 
had  departed  with  them. 

The  council  raged  with  fury.  They  ordained 
that  the  accused  preachers  should  be  arrested  with- 
out legal  formalities,  and  it  was  declared  treason- 
able to  hold  correspondence  with  those  who  had 


332  JENNY  GEDDES. 

fled.  The  earl  of  Gowrie,  for  his  part  in  the  Raid 
of  Ruthven — though  he  had  been  expressly  par- 
doned by  the  king — was  seized  and  executed,  and 
his  estates  divided  among  the  friends  of  Arran. 
A  parliament  was  called  at  Edinburgh  to  sit  with 
closed  doors,  and  the  Lords  of  the  Articles  sworn 
to  secresy.  Knowing  the  malignity  of  James  and 
Arran,  the  ministers  awaited  with  dread  the  doings 
of  this  body.  To  mitigate  the  wrath  of  their  per- 
secutors, they  sent  the  temperate  David  Lindsay  to 
entreat  the  king  that  no  laAV  affecting  the  Church 
should  be  passed  without  consultation  with  the 
Assembly,  and  Arran  arrested  him  in  the  palace 
courtyard  and  sent  him  prisoner  to  Blackness 
Castle.  Others  sent  to  Parliament  were  denied 
admission.  The  dark  council,  including  Adamson 
and  Montgomery  as  bishops,  went  on  in  their 
works  of  darkness,  and  enacted  the  "  Black  Acts 
of  1584,"  which  asserted  that  to  decline  the  judg- 
ment of  king  or  council  in  any  matter  was  treason 
— that  to  impugn  or  seek  diminution  of  the  power 
and  authority  of  the  three  estates  was  treason — 
prohibiting  any  assembly,  except  the  ordinary 
courts,  to  consult  or  determine  any  matter,  civil 
or  ecclesiastical,  without  special  commandment  and 
license  from  the  king — declaring  that  bishops,  and 


THE  CONFLICT.  333 

others  whom  the  king  might  appohit,  should  have 
control  in  ecclesiastical  matters — that  to  censure  the 
conduct  of  the  king  or  council  was  gross  treason. 

When  these  acts  were  proclaimed,  Pont  and 
Balcanquhall  entered  a  public  protest  at  the  mar- 
ket-cross, Edinburgh,  and  fled  the  kingdom,  while 
Arran  raged  and  issued  orders  for  their  arrest. 
Nicol  Dagleish,  a  distinguished  scholar,  was  ar- 
rested and  tried,  as  for  a  capital  offence,  for  pray- 
ing for  his  persecuted  brethren.  This  charge 
failing,  he  was  arrested  on  another,  tried  and  con- 
demned to  death,  and,  though  not  executed,  was 
shut  up  in  a  cell,  from  whose  window  he  could  see 
the  scaffold  on  which  he  was  sentenced  to  die. 
Professors  in  the  colleges  were  banished  or  thrown 
into  jail. 

The  exiled  pastors  wrote  to  their  congregations. 
The  cowardly  magistrates  of  Edinburgh  sent  the 
letter  to  the  king,  and  his  majesty  had  a  letter 
drawn  up  casting  reproach  and  contempt  upon  the 
ministers,  and  thanking  God  that  the  people  were 
now  relieved  from  wolves,  and  begging  the  king 
to  give  them  good  pastors  in  their  stead,  and  then 
endeavoured  to  get  the  chief  inhabitants  in  Edin- 
burgh to  sign  it !  Sixteen  craven-spirited  persons 
put  their  names  to  this  letter. 


334  JEXyY  GEDDES. 

The  reign  of  terror  wrought  a  double  work — 
driving  the  best  men  out  of  the  kingdom,  and 
stirring  up  a  spirit  within  the  realm  of  mighty, 
though  for  a  while  smothered,  indignation.  The 
recreant  Adamson  drew  up  a  bond  binding  all 
ministers  who  subscribed  it  to  submit  to  the  kinp-'s 

o 

power  over  all  estates,  spiritual  and  temporal,  and 
ordering  all  to  sign  it  within  forty  days.  Even 
this  bond  a  few  subscribed.  But  the  vengeance 
of  James  was  not  yet  sated,  and  he  begged  of 
Elizabeth  to  drive  the  poor  refugees  out  of  her 
kingdom,  which  he  well  knew  she  was  wicked 
enough  to  do  if  a  sufficient  reason  offered.  Civil 
war  now  broke  out  between  Arran  and  the  op- 
pressed nobles,  and  the  plague  added  its  horrors 
to  the  darkness  of  the  times. 

At  length  the  exiled  lords  returned,  joining 
with  the  insurgents  in  Scotland,  and,  advancing 
upon  Stirling,  published  a  proclamation  enumer- 
ating the  crimes  of  Arran,  and  declaring  that  they 
had  taken  up  arms  to  deliver  Church  and  State 
from  their  oppressors.  They  took  the  town  by 
surprise,  and  came  to  terms  with  the  king  in  the 
castle.  Arran  fled,  and  was  deprived  of  his  title 
and  estates,  and  the  fickle  king  took  his  deliverers 
to  his  bosom! 


THE  CONFLICT.  335 

This  revolution  delivered  the  Cliurch  from  per- 
secution, but  the  lords,  having  attained  all  they 
cared  for,  did  little  to  free  her  from  the  yoke  of 
the  black  acts  of  Arran's  infamous  Parliament. 
During  these  hours  of  gloom  some  of  the  min- 
isters displayed  even  a  rashness  of  courage,  which 
damaged  rather  than  helped  the  good  cause. 
James  Gibson,  minister  of  Pencaitland,  in  a  ser- 
mon at  Edinburgh,  declared  : 

"I  thought  that  Arran  and  Lady  Jezebel,  his 
wife,  were  the  persecutors  of  the  Church,  but  now 
I  find  that  it  was  King  James  himself.  As  Jero- 
boam and  his  posterity  were  rooted  out  for  staying 
the  worship  of  the  true  God,  so  I  fear  that  if  our 
king  continue  in  his  present  course,  he  shall  die 
childless  and  be  the  last  of  his  race."  For  this 
lie  was  sent  to  prison.  During  a  sermon  against 
bishops,  in  the  High  Church,  Edinburgh,  the  king 
rose  and  offered  to  bet  his  kingdom  that  he  could 
disprove  what  the  preacher  had  said  ! 

In  April,  1586,  the  Synod  of  Fife  excommuni- 
cated Adamson,  tulchan  archbishop  of  St.  An- 
drew's. Adamson  was  a  man  of  parts  and  culture, 
but  of  doubtful  private  character  and  immoderately 
ambitious,  and,  from  being  an  orthodox  Presby- 
terian, for  the  sake  of  a  bishopric  had  become  a 


336  JENNY  GEDDES. 

zealous  prelatlst.  This  tulchan,  finding  himself 
excommunicated  by  the  ever-faithful  Synod  of 
Fife,  proceeded  to  excommunicate  Melville  and 
several  others.  The  matter  came  before  the  As- 
sembly in  May,  and,  after  a  long  struggle  with  the 
kingcraft  of  James,  it  reversed  the  sentence  of  the 
synod ;  and  while  denying  all  scriptural  ground 
for  Prelacy,  declared  that  it  must  be  tolerated  if 
forced  upon  them  by  civil  authority.  They,  how- 
ever, persisted  in  compelling  Adamson  to  beg  par- 
don for  his  imperious  conduct,  to  promise  submis- 
sion to  the  Assembly,  and  to  conduct  himself  as 
a  pastor  ought,  suitably  to  the  character  of  a 
bishop  as  described  by  Paul — that  is  to  say,  as  a 
Presbyterian  preaching  elder. 

As  Queen  Mary  was  now  in  the  cruel  grasp  of 
Elizabeth,  James  insisted  that  the  ministers  should 
pray  for  her.  A  solemn  fast  was  proclaimed  for 
her,  and  the  so-called  bishop  of  St.  Andrew's  was 
directed  to  officiate  at  St.  Giles'  on  the  occasion. 
But  the  ministers  prevailed  upon  John  Cowper  to 
take  possession  of  the  pulpit  and  forestall  the  bishop. 
The  king,  coming  in  in  the  middle  of  the  prayer, 
stopped  Cowper  and  told  him  to  withdraw  or  else 
])ray  for  the  queen.  He  replied  that  he  would  do 
as  the  S])irit  of  God  direc^ted.     The  captain  of  the 


THE  COSFLTCT.  337 

guard  then  put  him  out,  and,  as  he  withdrew,  he 
exclaimed: 

"This  day  sliall  be  a  witness  against  the  king  in 
the  great  day  of  the  Lord." 

In  July,  1587,  Parliament  met,  on  which  the 
venerable  Erskine  of  Dun,  the  last  of  the  original 
Reformers  of  the  Church,  attended  as  commissioner 
to  favour  the  interests  of  religion.  This  Parliament 
ratified  all  the  laws  passed  in  favour  of  the  Reform- 
ation during  the  minority  of  the  king,  and  annexed 
all  the  unappropriated  lands  of  the  Church  to  the 
Crown.  This  act  was  a  sword  with  two  edges,  one 
of  which  James  did  not  see.  It  at  once — and  this 
he  saw  with  delight — robbed  the  Church  of  her 
rightful  revenues,  but  at  the  same  time — which  he 
did  not  see — gave  a  fatal  blow  to  bishoprics,  as  it 
took  away  their  support,  and  rendered  vain  all  his 
subsequent  efforts  to  restore  the  work  of  Prelacy,  to 
which  James  was  becoming  more  and  more  inclined. 
For  already  he  saw  that  Presbyterianism  and  roy- 
alty could  hardly  be  harnessed  to  the  same  chariot; 
and,  furthermore,  he  now  scented  the  rich  game 
across  the  borders  in  the  crown  of  England,  to  which 
he  was  heir,  and  which  the  declining  years  of  Eliza- 
beth was  bringino;  hourly  toward  his  hand.  But  the 
same  Parliament  also  transferred,  w^th  these  Church 

22 


338  JENNY  GEDDES. 

lands,  the  patronage  attached  to  them,  thus  giving 
into  godless  hands  the  power  to  present  candidates 
for  great  numbers  of  pulpits,  and  opening  the  way  fo- 
corruption  in  the  ministry,  and  for  many  a  hard 
struggle  between  the  patrons  and  the  State  behind 
them  and  the  vigilant  and  resolute  Church  au- 
thorities. 

Stirring  times  in  the  whole  civil  and  religious 
w^orld  were  now  drawing  on.  The  persistent  though 
semi-popish  Protestantism  of  England,  and  espe- 
cially the  judicial  murder  of  Mary  Queen  of  Scots, 
had  at  length  concentrated  the  bigoted  energies  of 
popery  into  ripe  conspiracy,  and  the  Great  Armada 
w^as  getting  ready  to  sail  for  the  overthrow  of  Pro- 
testant power.  James,  though  tampered  with  by 
Philip  of  Spain,  had  sense  enough  to  see  that  his 
own  interests  were  bound  up  with  those  of  England. 

But  while  King  James,  with  characteristic  indo- 
lence and  love  of  ease,  was  trifling  away  his  time, 
the  Assembly  held  an  extraordinary  meeting,  and 
sent  a  deputation  to  him  to  oifer  their  services  and 
to  rouse  him  to  action.  The  childish  monarcli, 
jifended  at  this  seeming  reproach,  refused  to  receive 
the  deputation,  and  petulantly  asked  if  they  meant 
to  dictate  to  him  and  threaten  him  with  their  power? 
But,  listening  to  wiser  councils,  he  named  a  com- 


THE  CONFLICT.  339 

mittee  of  the  privy  council  to  co-operate  with  the 
Church  commissioners  in  making  provision  for  the 
public  safety.  Thus  Presbyterianism  as  such,  identi- 
fied as  it  was  with  the  people's  liberties,  and  finding 
its  own  interests  deeply  involved  with  the  general 
good  in  this  hour  of  great  national  peril,  did  not  wait 
to  respond  to  the  call  of  the  government  for  aid,  but 
took  the  initiative,  and,  pledging  all  its  powers  to 
the  work,  called  with  a  trumpet  voice  upon  the 
government  and  nation  to  bestir  itself  for  the  na- 
tional salvation. 

A  bond  was  drawn  up  and  signed  by  the  minis- 
ters, and  by  all  ranks  of  nobles  and  subjects  for 
co-operation,  recognizing  religion  and  the  State  as 
involved  in  the  same  peril,  and  pledging  themselves 
to  maintain  both  against  all  foes  at  home  and  abroad. 
A  popish  insurrection  in  Scotland  was  promptly 
suppressed.  And  now  news  came  that  the  Armada 
had  sailed !  A  meeting  of  the  estates  was  imme- 
diately summoned;  a  general  enrolment  of  the 
whole  population  fit  for  arms  was  ordered ;  officers 
appointed  and  watchers  for  the  seaports,  and  a  sys- 
tem of  beacons  and  signals  adjusted  to  give  timely 
notice  of  the  appearance  of  any  hostile  ships — the 
whole  Protestant  population  warmly  seconding 
every  measure  of  the  government.     This  activity, 


340  JENNY  GEDBES. 

however,  was  due  much  more  to  Maitland,  the 
chancellor,  than  to  the  fickle,  half-imbecile  mon- 
arch. 

At  length  the  Armada  arrived  in  the  Channel. 
Sir  Francis  Drake,  with  his  lighter  vessels,  hung 
on  their  flanks  and  cut  off  several  vessels.  While 
anchored  before  Calais,  fireships  were  sent  in 
among  them,  which  threw  them  into  confusion, 
during  which  the  English  attacked  them,  and,  aided 
by  a  storm,  sent  devastation  through  the  whole 
fleet.  In  their  consternation  the  Spaniards  swept 
northward,  where  a  violent  tempest  scattered  and 
wrecked  them  among  the  Hebrides  and  on  the  coasts 
of  Scotland  and  Ireland.  A  very  few  of  the  relics 
of  this  proud  Armada  found  their  way  back  to 
Spain,  leaving  behind  in  the  ocean's  angry  bosom 
some  representative  of  almost  every  considerable 
family  in  the  kingdom,  and  thus  it  was  that  popery 
swept  Protestantism  from  Britain !  Great  were  the 
rejoicings  both  in  England  and  Scotland,  and  in 
the  fervour  of  their  gratitude  the  people  of  Scot- 
land treated  the  wretches  who  were  wrecked  on 
their  coasts  with  great  humanity,  and  sent  them 
home  to  their  friends. 

The  zeal  of  the  Church  in  this  great  crisis  pro- 
duced a  transitory  effect  on  the  impressible  James, 


THE  CONFLICT.  341 

An  insurrection  of  papists,  with  the  design  of  seiz- 
ing the  king  and  gaining  control  of  his  person,  was 
put  down.  The  Assembly  excommunicated  Adam- 
son  for  solemnizing  marriage  between  the  popish 
earl  of  Huntly  and  a  lady  of  the  Lennox  family. 

The  danger  of  invasion  past,  the  king  bent  his 
tlioughts  on  marriage  with  the  Princess  Anne, 
second  daughter  of  Frederick  II.  of  Denmark. 
Married  by  proxy,  the  princess  set  sail  for  Scotland, 
but  a  violent  storm,  attributed  by  James  to  the 
witches  of  Norway  and  Scotland,  drove  the  fleet 
into  a  part  of  Norway,  near  Upsal,  where  it  was 
determined  that  the  bride  should  spend  the  winter. 
But  the  king,  though  in  great  dread  of  the  witches, 
resolved  to  venture  his  sacred  person  within  their 
power,  and,  setting  forth  with  a  fine  retinue,  reached 
the  princess  after  a  stormy  voyage  of  five  days.  On 
Sunday,  the  24th  of  November,  he  was  married, 
and  early  in  May  following  he  arrived  at  Leith 
with  his  bride. 

Before  leaving  Scotland,  the  king  appointed  a 
provisional  government  to  act  during  his  absence, 
3t  the  head  of  which  he  placed  the  duke  of  Lennox, 
and,  as  an  extraordinary  member  of  the  council,  he 
named  Robert  Bruce,  one  of  the  ministers  of  Edin- 
burgh, declaring  that  he  reposed  greater  confidence 

29* 


342  JENNY  GEDDES. 

in  him  and  his  brethren  than  in  all  the  other  mem- 
bers of  tlie  conncil.  During  the  six  months  of  his 
absence  the  country  was  more  tranquil  than  it  had 
been  for  many  years,  much  of  which  James  himself 
attributed  to  the  influence  of  the  clergy,  and  in  his 
letters  to  Bruce  he  told  him  that  he  considered  him 
worth  a  quarter  of  his  kingdom,  and  that  he  should 
reckon  himself  beholden  to  him  while  he  lived  for 
his  services,  and  would  never  forget  the  same. 
Subsequent  events  showed  how^  much  the  words  of 
a  king  are  sometimes  worth. 

The  return  of  the  king  was  celebrated  with  all 
manner  of  festive  rejoicings.  At  the  coronation  of 
the  queen  three  sermons  were  preached — one  in 
Latin,  one  in  French,  one  in  English.  The  Tues- 
day following  the  queen  made  a  public  entry  into 
Edinburgh  amid  the  enthusiasm  of  a  rejoicing  peo- 
ple. The  following  Sunday,  after  sermon  in  the 
High  Church,  the  king  rose  and  thanked  the  min- 
isters for  their  fidelity,  confessed  the  indiscretion  of 
his  youth,  and  promised  truer  fidelity  to  Kirk  and 
State  as  a  married  man. 

In  the  Assembly,  which  met  in  August,  he  pro- 
nounced his  famous  eulogium  upon  the  Church  of 
Scotland.  AVith  hands  uplifted  and  in  a  temporary 
rapture,  he  said : 


THE  CONFLICT.  343 

"  I  praise  God  that  I  was  born  in  such  a  time  as 
in  the  light  of  the  gospel,  and  in  such  a  place  as  to 
be  king  in  such  a  Kirk,  the  sincerest  Kirk  in  all  the 
world.  The  Kirk  of  Geneva  keepeth  Pasch  and 
Yule,  and  what  have  they  for  them? — they  have  no 
institutions.  As  for  our  neighbour  Kirk  in  Eng- 
land, their  service  is  an  ill-said  mass  in  English. 
They  want  nothing  of  the  mass  but  the  liftings. 
I  charge  you,  my  good  people — ministers,  doctors, 
elders,  nobles,  gentlemen  and  barons — to  stand  to 
your  purity ;  and  I,  forsooth,  so  long  as  I  brook 
my  life  and  crown,  sliall  maintain  the  same  against 
all  deadly.'^ 

The  Assembly  were  in  transports,  and  for  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  nothing  was  heard  but  praising 
God  and  praying  for  the  king.  It  was  honeymoon 
with  the  king  and  honeymoon  with  the  Kirk ;  but, 
alas !  the  poor  Kirk  afterward  found  occasion  to 
sigh  with  the  afflicted  husband  :  "  For  six  months 
after  my  marriage  I  thought  I  should  have  de- 
voured my  darling  wife,  and  ever  since  I  have 
been  very  sorry  that  I  did  not.'' 

For  the  present,  however,  all  was  bright,  Zion 
had  shaken  herself  from  the  clutches  of  her  foes, 
and  her  face  was  radiant  with  peace  and  hoi)e. 
And  now  old   ^'  Bishop'^  Adamson,  the  able  and 


344  JENNY  GEDDES. 

virulent  enemy  of  his  Church,  deprived  of  support 
by  the  transfer  of  the  revenues  of  his  bishopric  to 
the  Crown,  reduced  to  poverty  and  neglected  by 
the  king,  of  whose  worst  measures  he  had  always 
been  a  warm  advocate,  tortured  by  remorse  and 
wasted  by  immoralities,  recanted  his  episcopal  sen- 
timents, confessed  sorrow  for  his  sins,  and  drew 
out  the  rest  of  his  miserable  life  in  dependence 
upon  the  charities  of  Andrew  Melville,  whom  he 
had  often  and  bitterly  persecuted. 

*<  GOD'S    SILLY    VASSAL.'^ 

When  the  Church  becomes  entangled  in  unholy 
alliance  Avith  the  State — unless,  as  in  England,  it 
sinks  to  passive  vassalage — its  history  is  sure  to  be 
chequered  by  harrassing  conflicts  of  jurisdiction 
which  mislead  her  judgment,  embitter  her  temper, 
waste  her  time  and  impair  her  energies. 

Graham,  of  Hallyards,  was  accused  of  certain 
fraudulent  transactions  which  exposed  him  to  cen- 
sure as  a  minister  of  the  gospel  and  to  trial  and 
punishment  as  a  citizen.  Under  the  former  phase 
of  the  case,  the  Assembly  arraigned  him,  as  it  was 
their  right  and  duty  to  do.  Under  the  latter,  the 
State  arraigned  him,  as  was  its  right  and  duty.  It 
would  seem  as  if  there  were  here  no  room  for  col- 


THE  CONFLICT.  345 

lision  ;  but  each  asserted  priority  of  jurisdiction  in 
the  case — the  Church,  that  as  a  minister  Graham 
must  first  come  before  them ;  and  the  Court  that, 
as  a  subject  he  must  first  appear  at  their  tribunal. 
In  this,  undoubtedly,  both  were  in  the  wrong. 
Both  Church  and  State  had  the  right  to  act  at 
their  own  convenience;  nor  need  the  judgment  of 
the  one,  whatever  it  might  be  or  whenever  given, 
prevent  the  other  from  either  passing  the  accused 
through  an  impartial  trial  or  from  inflicting  a 
penalty  according  to  the  verdict.  The  Assembly, 
however,  maintained  its  own  claims  and  passed 
upon  the  matter,  and  then  the  Court  of  Sessions 
tried  the  cause  in  their  own  way. 

During  the  absence  of  the  king  the  Church  and 
nation  had  peace;  on  his  return  the  latter  was  rent 
with  civil  broils,  giving  reason  for  a  wish  that 
James  might  have  frequent  occasion  to  go  abroad, 
and  that  his  return  might  not  be  hastened.  A 
fierce  quarrel  arose  between  the  wicked  Huntly 
and  ^^  the  bonnie  earl  of  Murray,"  the  handsomest 
man  of  his  ao-e  and  son  of  the  "  Good  Reo^ent." 
Blood  flowed  freely,  and  the  silly  king,  instead  of 
(juelling  the  disorder,  spent  his  time  in  the  dis- 
covery, arrest  and  examination  of  witches,  and 
burning  them.     One  of  the  witches  accused  Both- 


346  JENNY  GEDDES. 

well,  and  the  king  had  him  arrested.  Bothwell 
escaped,  and,  raising  a  party,  attacked  the  palace, 
but  was  driven  off.  Huntly  told  James  that 
^lurray  was  among  the  assailants,  and,  setting  off 
with  a  troop  to  arrest  Murray,  killed  him.  The 
next  morning  James  set  out  a-hunting  as  if  noth- 
ing had  happened,  but  such  Avas  the  general  in- 
dignation that  he  sent  for  some  of  the  ministers 
and  protested  to  them  his  innocence  in  the  matter. 
They  replied  that  he  might  clear  himself  by 
promptly  punishing  the  real  offenders.  But  his 
indolence  in  the  matter  only  increased  the  general 
indignation.  And  now  in  his  perils  the  cowardly 
king  threw  himself  into  the  arms  of  the  Church, 
which  saw  that  the  time  had  come  to  insist  on  re- 
formation and  formal  release  from  some  of  their 
burdens.  The  Assembly  accordingly  drew  up  ar- 
ticles embodying  their  requests,  and  presented  them 
to  the  king,  at  the  same  time  begging  him  to  enter 
upon  a  path  of  righteous  dealing,  that  thus  he 
might  avert  the  wrath  of  God. 

When  the  Parliament  met  it  ratified  the  General 
Assemblies,  synods,  presbyteries  and  sessions  of 
the  Church,  declaring  them,  with  the  jurisdiction 
and  discipline  belonging  to  them,  to  be  thenceforth 
just,  good  and  godly — all  statutes,  acts  and  laws, 


THE  CONFLICT.  347 

canon,  civil  or  municipal,  to  the  contrary  notwith- 
standing. It  ratified  and  embodied  also  some  of 
the  leading  propositions  of  the  Second  Book  of 
Discipline.  It  ordained  that  General  Assemblies 
be  held  once  a  year,  or  oftener  as  occasion  might 
call ;  the  time  and  place  of  meeting  to  be  named 
by  the  king  or  his  commissioner,  or,  in  case  of 
their  absence,  by  the  Assembly  itself.  It  gave 
into  the  hands  of  the  Church  all  matters  of  doc- 
trine and  discipline  according  to  the  Word  of  God. 
It  declared  the  act  of  Parliament,  granting  com- 
missions to  men  as  bishops,  and  other  judges  in 
ecclesiastical  causes,  appointed  by  the  king,  to  be 
null  and  void;  and  ordained  that  patrons  should 
present  their  candidates  to  presbyteries,  who  were 
not  to  reject  those  they  deemed  fitted  for  the  office ; 
and  should  the  presbytery  refuse  to  induct  a  quali- 
fied minister  the  presentee,  might  retain  the  income 
of  the  benefice  in  his  own  hands.  And  this  act 
Hetherington  pronounces  the  great  charter  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland. 

We,  in  our  land  and  day,  while  taking  into  ac- 
count the  peculiarly  difficult  position  of  our  vene- 
rable fathers  of  the  Scottish  Church,  yet  cannot 
look  ^vithout  impatience  and  vexation  on  the  scene 
"where  the  Church  accepts  with  thankfulness,  at  the 


348  JJENNY  GEDDES. 

hands  of  a  Parliament  the  rights  which  God  had 
given  before  Parliaments  came  into  existence. 

This  act  of  Parliament  was,  no  doubt,  a  great 
blessing  to  the  Church,  but  the  power  that  gives 
may  recall,  and  in  accepting  the  boon  at  such 
hands  the  Church  virtually  acknowledged  the  right 
of  Parliament  in  the  case,  and  put  itself  largely  at 
its  mercy.  And  in  the  clause  allowing  the  patron 
to  retain  the  income  of  a  benefice  when  a  qualified 
minister  was  rejected  by  the  presbytery,  who  was 
to  be  the  judge  as  to  the  rejected  man's  fitness? 
The  patron,  or  some  secular  court,  or  the  king, 
or,  at  all  events,  some  other  power  than  the  pres- 
bytery, and  thus  in  any  case,  the  liberty  of  the 
Church  was  gone  and  her  purity  put  in  jeopardy. 
May  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  hasten  the  hour 
when  the  Church  everywhere  shall  free  herself 
from  all  formal  alliance  with  the  State,  and  act 
freely  in  all  matters  in  the  independence  that  be- 
longs to  her ! 

But  vexatious  and  disastrous  complications  mul- 
tiplied. The  king's  word  was  a  breath  from  a  vain 
and  treacherous  heart,  and  of  no  more  binding 
force  with  him  than  his  dreams  ;  and,  knowing  this, 
the  Church  took  little  comfort  from  the  existence 
of  the  "  Great  Charter"  on  the  records  of  the  realm. 


THE  CONFLICT.  349 

lu  1592  a  general  alarm  spread  tlirough  the 
kingdom  from  the  known  presence  of  plotting 
priests  and  Jesuits.  An  extraordinary  meeting  of 
ministers  was  convened  at  Edinburgh  to  take 
measures  for  defence.  Andrew  Knox,  minister 
of  Paisley,  having  secret  intelligence  of  a  con- 
spiracy, hastened  to  the  island  of  Cumray  and 
seized  George  Kerr,  as  he  was  just  embarking  for 
Spain.  Letters  from  priests  in  Scotland  were 
found  upon  him  revealing  an  extended  conspirary 
of  the  most  perilous  character.  Spain  was  to  land 
thirty  thousand  men  on  the  western  coast  of  tlie 
kingdom — part  to  invade  England  and  part  to  act 
with  Huntly,  Errol  and  Angus  for  the  suppression 
of  Protestantism  and  the  establishment  of  popery 
in  Scotland. 

With  this  information,  the  privy  council  united 
with  the  ministers  in  issuing  letters  calling  upon 
all  patriots  to  hasten  to  Edinburgh.  The  king 
also  was  earnestly  besought  to  hasten  thither. 
Angus  was  arrested.  Upon  the  king's  arrival  he 
fretted  like  a  spoiled  child  at  the  zeal  of  his  sub- 
jects, and  resented  their  conduct  as  an  invasion  of 
his  prerogative.  They  replied  like  men  :  and  when 
the  king  saw  the  extent  of  the  danger  his  vexation 
turned  against  the  conspirators,  and  he  called  An- 


350  JENNY  GEDDES. 

gus  a  "  traitor  of  traitors."  A  proclamation  was 
issued  specifying  the  general  nature  of  the  con- 
spiracy, and  commanding  all  to  abstain  from  inter- 
course with  popish  priests  on  pain  of  treason,  and 
the  array  of  the  country  was  ordered  to  meet  the 
king  by  the  20th  of  February  at  Aberdeen.  And 
as  the  king  lay  under  suspicion  of  lack  of  zeal — 
and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  wretched  man 
would  have  been  easily  content  to  have  popery 
restored,  or  anything  else  that  would  at  once  make 
him  a  thorough  despot  in  fact  as  he  was  in  spirit, 
and  leave  him  to  enjoy  his  childish  pleasures — he 
thought  it  necessary  to  j^urge  himself,  as  far  as 
words  would  do  it,  by  a  formal  j^rohibition  of  any 
attempt  to  procure  pardon  for  the  conspirators. 
Graham  of  Fintry  was  brought  to  trial  and  exe- 
cuted, but  Angus  escaped  and  joined  the  conspira- 
tors in  arms.  The  king  now  marched  northward, 
and  on  his  arrival  at  Aberdeen  the  conspirators 
retired  to  the  mountains  and  sent  their  ladies  to 
intercede  for  them ;  and,  notwithstanding  his 
solemn  bond  to  the  contrary,  James  received  them 
with  kindly  courtesy,  telling  them  that  if  their 
husbands  would  submit  to  trial  they  should  suf- 
fer no  wrong.  In  favour  of  the  enemies  of  his 
country,  and    its  religion,  James   generally  made 


THE  CONFLICT.  351 

an  exception  to  his  general  rule,  and  kept  his 
word. 

In  April  the  Assembly  met  at  Dundee,  without 
the  king's  order.  The  king,  by  his  commissioner, 
complained  of  this  as  an  infringement  of  the  act 
of  1592,  requiring  its  meetings  to  be  held  only  by 
his  majesty's  appointment.  The  Assembly  as- 
sented, but  stirred  up  his  royal  mind  by  way  of 
remembrance  with  the  hint  that  by  the  act  in  ques- 
tion they  were  at  liberty  to  meet  on  their  own  mo- 
tion if  he  were  not  present  in  person  or  by  his 
commissioner.  Other  points  of  disagreement  be- 
tween them  demonstrated  an  ntter  lack  of  har- 
mony, and  made  it  evident  that  open  rupture 
could  not  be  very  long  delayed. 

In  July,  Parliament  met  for  the  trial  of  the 
popish  lords,  but  Angus  and  Kerr  had  been  al- 
lowed to  escape ;  and  after  playing  with  the  subject 
for  a  while,  the  king  allowed  tlie  traitors  to  return 
to  their  castles  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  their 
liberty,  excepting  a  prohibition  to  appear  in  cer- 
tain towns  in  the  realm ;  and  the  whole  proceeding 
deepened  the  conviction  in  the  public  mind — the 
king  was  much  more  popish  than  Protestant  in 
his  principles  and  sympathies. 

The  Synod  of  Fife,  at  its  meeting  in  September, 


352  JEXXY  GEDDES. 

with  true  Presbyterian  independence  and  fidelity, 
resolved  that  if  the  king  sheltered  the  traitors  from 
civil  censure,  they  would  visit  them  with  that  of 
the  Church.  And  as  Angus  and  Errol  had  sub- 
scribed the  Confession  of  Faith  within  its  bounds, 
and  were  thus  within  its  jurisdiction,  and  within 
its  bounds  Iluntly  had  murdered  Murray,  the  sy- 
nod excommunicated  them,  and  sent  notice  of  what 
they  had  done  throughout  the  country ;  they  fur- 
ther made  arrangements  to  hold  a  general  meeting 
of  commissioners  from  the  different  counties — of 
noblemen,  gentlemen,  burgesses  and  ministers — at 
Edinburgh,  in  October.  Poor  James  was  sorely 
tried  by  the  resolute  fidelity  of  these  Fife  presby- 
ters, and,  on  a  visit  to  Lord  Hamilton,  poured  out 
his  piteous  complaints :  "  You  see,  my  lord,  how 
I  am  used.  I  have  no  man  in  whom  I  can  trust 
more  than  in  Huntly.  If  I  receive  him,  the  min- 
isters will  cry  out  that  I  am  an  apostate ;  if  not, 
I  am  desolate." 

"  If  he  and  his  associates  are  not  enemies  to  the 
religion,  ye  may  receive  them,"  said  Hamilton. 

'^  I  cannot  tell  what  to  make  of  that,  but  the 
ministers  hold  them  for  enemies.  Always  I  would 
think   it   good   that    they  enjoyed   liberty  of  con- 


THE  COXFLICT.  353 

Aroused  at  hearing  tlie  royal  liypocrite  thus  prate 
of  liberty  of  conscience,  Hamilton  exclaimed: 

"Sir,  then  we  are  all  gone!  then  we  are  all  gone! 
If  there  is  not  another  to  withstand  them,  I  will !" 

Alarmed  at  his  earnestness,  the  king  forced  a 
ghastly  smile  and  meekly  replied : 

"  My  lord,  I  did  this  to  try  your  mind." 

After  such  dissimulation  the  most  credulous 
could  put  no  trust  in  the  king.  However,  on  his 
setting  out  to  quell  some  disturbances  on  the  bor- 
ders, he  lavished  upon  the  faithful  those  treasures 
which  with  him  were  exhaustless — fair  and  false 
promises,  assuring  them  that  he  would  show  no 
favour  to  the  conspirators. 

On  the  very  day  Avhen  this  promise  was  given 
the  king  admitted  the  conspirators  to  his  presence 
at  Jala,  and  made  arrangements  with  them  for  their 
trial.  The  convention,  now  in  session  at  Edin- 
burgh, sent  commissioners  after  the  king  to  Jedburgh 
to  tell  him  manfully  of  their  displeasure  at  his  con- 
ference with  the  traitors;  to  demand  that  his  pledges 
to  them,  in  so  far  as  they  were  calculated  to  defeat 
the  ends  of  justice,  be  annulled;  and  to  say  that  his 
faithful  subjects  would  sooner  lay  down  their  lives 
than  allow  the  land  to  be  overrun  with  popish  con- 
spirators. 

23 


354  JENNY  GEDLES. 

At  this  the  king  turned  like  a  wolf  at  bay  and 
denounced  the  convention  as  an  unlawful  assembly, 
inveighed  against  the  Synod  of  Fife  for  their  decrees 
of  excommunication,  and  threatened  to  call  a  Par- 
liament and  overthrow  Presbytery  and  establish 
Prelacy.  James  well  knew  that  while  elders  ruled 
in  the  Church  his  despotic  instincts  could  never  be 
gratified. 

To  this  furious  philippic,  James  Melville  replied 
in  manly  spirit,  and  the  heat  passing  off,  the  king 
dismissed  the  commissioners  with  another  batch  of 
royal  promises. 

The  convention  of  estates,  meeting  at  Linlithgow 
in  October,  appointed  commissioners  to  try  the  con- 
spirators at  Holyrood,  where  these  traitors  were 
ordered  to  give  satisfaction  to  the  Church,  and  to 
embrace  Protestantism  within  a  certain  time  or 
leave  the  realm,  and  all  further  process  in  the  case 
was  dropped.  Six  commissioners  from  the  Church 
were  present  at  this  mock  trial,  and  among  them 
Melville,  who  took  advantage  of  the  occasion  to 
read  the  king  one  of  his  sharp,  incisive  lectures, 
reproving  him  for  his  harsh  words  respecting  the 
chief  actors  in  the  Reformation  and  his  own  best 
friends,  and  for  his  partiality  to  the  enemies  of 
both;  and  pledging  himself  to  prove  that  the  king's 


THE  CONFLICT.  355 

advisers  in  these  matters  were  traitors  to  the  Crown 
and  realm,  and  engaging,  if  he  failed,  to  go  himself 
to  the  gibbet. 

As  usual,  in  the  issue  of  this  trial  the  king  dis- 
pleased all  but  the  foes  of  the  nation  and  its  religion. 
All  knew  that  the  criminals  could  easily  enough 
comply  with  the  terms  of  their  release,  and  the  next 
day  obtain  absolution  from  the  papal  authorities 
both  for  their  seeming  offence  and  from  all  obliga- 
tion to  submission  after  it  became  convenient  to 
throw  off  the  mask.  The  motives  of  James  for 
this  course  Avere  many.  In  the  first  place,  courage 
was  not  one  of  the  few  virtues  of  the  king,  and 
he  feared  to  deal  out  justice  to  the  conspirators. 
Then  Huntly,  as  the  head  of  the  popish  party  in 
Scotland,  wielded  considerable  influence,  and  as 
James  was  looking  to  the  crow^n  of  England,  where 
the  popish  party  was  strong,  he  was  anxious  not  to 
offend  either.  Besides,  the  despotic  principles  of 
the  Romanists  Avere  much  more  in  harmony  Avith 
his  OAvn  than  the  free,  indomitable  spirit  of  Presby- 
terian Protestantism,  and  with  all  he  Avas  inflated 
with  a  childish  pride  in  crafl  and  cunning,  and  was 
thoughtful  for  any  opportunity  for  its  display.  All 
these  reasons  combined  to  induce  that  "line  of 
policy  which  he  pursued  all  his  life,  and  left  as  a 


356  JENNY  GEDDES. 

dire  heritage  to  his  successors,  which  they  followed 
till  the  ill-omened  race  reaped  the  baneful  fruits  of 
generations  of  falsehood  and  oppression,  and  be- 
came extinct  after  years  of  exiled,  discrowned,  un- 
honoured,  unpitied  w^'etchedness/' 

In  the  Assembly  that  met  in  May,  1594,  on  the 
question  of  appointing  commissioners  to  the  king, 
the  nomination  of  James  Melville  as  one  of  them 
was  objected  to  on  the  ground  that  the  king  sus- 
pected him  of  giving  money  to  the  infamous  earl 
of  Bothwell,  an  illegitimate  scion  of  the  royal  race, 
the  successor  in  title  and  character  to  the  murderer 
of  Darnley,  to  enable  him  to  raise  troops  against 
the  king.  Melville  told  the  Assembly  that  in  the 
general  he  sought  no  such  appointments,  but  now 
he  insisted  on  being  appointed  that  he  might  clear 
himself  of  the  slander.  He  was  appointed,  and 
when  the  commissioners  were  about  to  retire  from 
the  presence  of  the  king,  Melville  rose  and  asked 
his  majesty  if  he  had  anything  to  lay  to  his 
charge.  The  king  said  he  had  not.  Melville  ex- 
pressed his  gratification,  and  added  that  if  there 
were  any  present  that  traduced  him  to  his  majesty, 
he  desired  they  would  now  speak  their  minds 
while  he  was  present  to  defend  himself.  No  one 
made  reply,  and  then  the  king  took  him  into  his 


THE  CONFLICT.  357 

cabinet,  conversed  with  him  with  great  famih'arity, 
and  then,  dismissing  him  with  warm  commenda- 
tions, doubtless  sat  down  to  chuckle  over  this  ad- 
ditional demonstration  that  he  was  indeed  the  very 
emperor  of  kingcraft. 

As  the  twofold  effect  of  James'  weakness  and 
tergiversation,  the  popish  rebels  were  soon  again 
in  arms,  and  found  abettors  in  Parliament,  and 
even  in  the  council-chamber  of  the  king.  Ap- 
pearing for  the  Church  before  the  Lords  of  Arti- 
cles, Melville  urged  to  manly  and  decisive  mea- 
sures.    Addressing  the  king,  he  said  : 

*^  Sir,  many  think  it  a  great  matter  to  overthrow 
the  estate  of  three  so  great  men,  but  it  is  a  weight- 
ier matter  to  expel  out  of  the  country  three  far 
greater — to  wit,  true  religion,  the  quietness  of  the 
commonwealth  and  the  prosperous  estate  of  the 
kino^.  If  ve  lords  can  2:et  us  a  better  common- 
wealth  and  a  better  king,  we  are  content  that  the 
traitorous  lords  be  spared;  otherwise  \ve  desire  ye 
to  do  your  duty.'' 

Thus  spoke  the  Church  in  the  hour  of  national 
peril,  as  a  Church  worthy  of  the  name  will  always 
speak  when  the  immeasurable  interests  of  society 
and  religion  are  at  once  threatened  by  the  incur- 
sion of  foreign  or  the  ujiri.-ing  of  domestic  foes. 


358  JENXY  GEDDES. 

Melville  then  objected  to  the  presence  among 
those  counsellors  of  some  who  lay  under  suspicion 
of  sympathy  with  the  rebels. 

"  Whom  do  you  mean  ?"  asked  the  king. 

'^  One  who  laughs  across  the  table." 

'^  Do  you  mean  me  ?''  asked  Kinloss. 

^^  If  you  confess  yourself  guilty,  I  will  not  clear 
you  ;  but  I  meant  Inchaffray." 

^'  Now,  Edward,"  said  James  to  Kinloss,  "  that 
is  Judas'  question — Is  it  I,  master  f^ 

Argyle,  having  been  sent  against  the  rebels,  was 
defeated,  and  James,  w^th  a  great  show  of  zeal,  set 
out  toward  Aberdeen,  taking  with  him  both  An- 
drew and  James  Melville  to  see  his  zeal  for  the 
Lord.  But  his  money  soon  gave  out,  and  none 
had  confidence  enough  in  his  sincerity  to  entrust 
him  with  either  men  or  money,  and  now,  as  so 
often,  the  Church  sprang  into  the  breach.  James 
Melville  hastened  southward  to  raise  contributions, 
and  with  such  speed  and  success  that  the  king  was 
enabled  to  keep  the  field.  But  scarcely  had  Mel- 
ville gone  on  this  errand  when  his  privy  counsel- 
lors almost  persuaded  the  royal  weathercock  to 
change  his  purpose  and  spare  his  enemies.  But 
Andrew  Melville,  by  his  cogent  reasonings  and 
earnest   remonstrances,   made    such   an   impression 


THE  CONFLICT.  359 

upon  the  army  officers  present  that  the  king  gave 
orders  for  the  dismantling  of  Huntly's  castle  of 
Strathbogie,  and  the  rebels  soon  after  quitted  the 
kingdom.  Thus,  as  usual,  any  little  manliness 
shown  by  this  king  can  be  traced  directly  to  the 
counsels  and  energy  of  the  Kirk  he  so  disliked ; 
and  had  his  majesty  been  blessed  with  but  a  rea- 
sonable share  of  common  sense,  he  would  have 
seen  that  her  principles  w^ere  those  of  honour, 
energy  and  pros]_>erity.  But  so  little  harmony 
existed,  or  could  exist,  between  such  a  man  as 
James  and  a  true  Presbyterian  eldership,  that  the 
latter  was  always  compelled  to  stand  at  the  senti- 
neFs  post  to  watch  against  royal  encroachments, 
and  the  former  was  always  as  keenly  on  the  w^atch 
for  opportunities  to  chain  the  Church  to  the  steps 
of  his  throne. 

From  the  time  of  the  regent  Morton  it  had  been 
the  constant  aim  of  men  in  power  to  unite  several 
parishes  under  one  incumbent,  and  then  appropri- 
ate the  extra  salaries  to  their  own  use ;  and,  not 
satisfied  with  this,  they  would  even  so  reduce  the 
income  of  the  one  j^astor  as  almost  to  starve  him, 
while  they  consumed  the  spoil  thus  wrested  from 
him. 

To  remedy  these  ills,  the  Assembly  of  1595  ap- 


360  JENNY  GEDDES. 

pointed  certain  ministers  to  inspect  the  condition 
of  things  in  the  parishes,  and  report,  at  a  conven- 
tion to  be  hehl  at  Edinburgh,  some  phin  by  whicli 
the  iniquity  might  be  prevented.  The  result  was 
a  scheme  called  the  "  constant  plat,"  which,  had 
the  king  been  faithful  to  his  oaths,  might  have 
saved  both  him  and  the  Church  no  little  evil. 
The  king,  indeed,  promised  to  ratify  the  scheme, 
but  made  his  promise  the  occasion  of  a  further  dis- 
play of  his  boasted  kingcraft. 

In  March  of  the  following  year  a  scene  was 
enjoyed  in  the  Assembly  of  touching  and  memor- 
able interest.  John  Davidson,  a  devoted  minister 
of  Prestonpans,  whose  mind  had  been  deeply  af- 
fected by  the  prevalent  disorder  and  corruption  in 
the  Church,  induced  the  Presbytery  of  Haddington 
to  overture  the  Assembly  upon  the  matter.  The 
overture  touched  the  heart  of  every  member  of  the 
Assembly,  and  a  paper  was  drawn  enumerating 
the  evils  to  be  reformed  in  the  persons  and  lives 
of  the  ministers,  the  offences  in  the  court  of  the 
realm,  the  corruptions  in  the  estates  and  in  courts 
of  justice.  On  motion  of  Melville,  the  means  of 
reaching  the  desired  reformation  were  agreed  upon. 
As  all  true  reformation  should  begin  at  home,  the 
Assembly  agreed  to  hold  a  meeting  by  themselves 


THE  CONFLICT,  361 

in  the  Little  Church  at  Edinburgh  on  Tuesday,  the 
30th  of  March,  John  Davidson  to  preside,  for  the 
purpose  of  personal  confession  and  humiliation. 
And  so  searching  were  the  words  of  Davidson  in 
his  opening  discourse  that  tears  were  wrung  from 
every  eye.  At  length  he  called  upon  them  all  in 
their  seats  to  bow  the  head  and  each  make  secret 
confession  before  God.  For  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
a  profound  and  solemn  stillness  pervaded  the  As- 
sembly, broken  only  by  sighs  and  sobs.  The  ser- 
vice lasted  for  three  hours,  when,  at  the  call  of 
Davidson,  the  whole  Assembly  arose  to  their  feet, 
and,  lifting  up  the  right  hand  to  God,  pledged 
themselves  to  walk  more  warily  and  be  more  dili- 
gent in  their  several  charges.  ^'  There  have  been 
many  days  of  humiliation  for  present  judgments 
or  imminent  dangers,  but  the  like  for  sin  and  de- 
fection was  never  seen  since  the  Reformation." 

At  the  order  of  the  Assembly  the  service  was 
repeated  throughout  the  Church — in  synods,  pres- 
byteries and  congregations  —  "until  all  Scotland, 
like  Judah,  of  old,  rejoiced  at  the  oath." 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Synod  of  Fife,  David  Fer- 
guson addressed  the  meeting.  He  was  one  of  the 
first  six  ministers  engaged  in  the  Reformation,  and 
now  the  sole  survivor.     He  told  them  that  he  had 


362  JENNY   GEDDES. 

engaged  in  tlie  work  wlien  the  name  of  stipend  was 
unknown,  and  when  tliey  had  to  encounter  the 
united  opposition  of  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical 
authorities,  without  all  support  from  rank  and 
powder,  yet  they  persevered,  and  God  had  crowned 
their  efforts  with  success.  Davidson  and  Melville 
also  addressed  the  synod,  and  all  felt  that  God  was 
with  them  of  a  truth. 

Thus  does  God  newly  anoint  his  chosen  with 
grace  preparatory  to  trial.  This  outburst  of  sun- 
shine was  the  prelude  of  storm  and  disaster,  and 
was  granted  that  his  saints  might  remember  when 
the  dark  days  were  upon  them  that  the  sun  unex- 
tinguished still  sat  enthroned  in  glory  behind  the 
clouds,  and  that,  in  God's  own  time,  the  storm 
would  pass  and  the  rainbow  of  peace  once  more 
span  the  skies. 

After  this  scene  of  devout  humiliation,  the  As- 
sembly adopted  the  "  constant-plat"  scheme,  which 
provided  that  the  whole  of  the  tithes  should  be 
regarded  as  the  patrimony  of  the  Church,  to  be 
expended  in  the  support  of  the  ministry,  of  the 
poor  and  of  a  national  system  of  education.  But 
King  James  cared  more  for  pleasures  unresisted 
by  church  censures,  and  power  unlimited  by 
church    liberty,   and    his    wicked    ministers    more 


THE  CONFLICT.  363 

for  the  gratification  of  their  avarice  than  for  edu- 
cation, the  poor  or  Christ's  ministry,  and  hence, 
as  usual,  they  took  one  side  of  this  question  and 
the  Church  the  other.  And  now  rumours  of  an- 
other Spanish  invasion  filled  the  air,  and  the  king 
ordered  military  musters;  and  the  preachers,  as 
usual  in  the  front  rank  of  patriotism,  exhorted  the 
people  to  arms.  In  the  midst  of  these  commotions 
news  came  that  the  popish  lords  had  re-entered  the 
kingdom,  and  the  people's  hearts  sank  within  them 
as  the  conviction  forced  itself  upon  the  mind  that 
the  false-hearted  king  was  privy  to  their  return. 
Most  of  the  king's  counsellors  were  known  papists. 
The  king,  as  was  easy  with  him,  protested  his  in- 
nocence. If  any  believed  him,  they  soon  saw  their 
folly,  for  at  an  early  day  a  meeting  of  the  privy 
council  was  called  at  Falkland,  to  consider  terms 
for  the  submission  of  the  traitors.  Certain  minis- 
ters, whom  the  court  thought  it  could  trust,  were 
invited  to  the  meeting;  but  among  them,  of  his 
own  accord,  came  Andrew  Melville !  When  the 
king  saw  him,  he  felt  as  Ahab  did  when  he  saw 
Elijah  :  "  Hast  thou  found  me,  O  mine  enemy  ?" 
"  Sir,"  said  Melville,  ''  I  have  a  call  from  Christ 
and  his  Church,  who  have  special  interest  in  this 
convention,  and  I  charge  you  and  your  estates,  in 


364  JENNY  GEDDES. 

their  name,  that  you  favour  not  their  enemies,  nor 
make  citizens  of  those  traitortj  who  have  sought  to 
betray  their  country !'' 

But  the  council  agreed  that  the  traitors  might 
be  restored  on  certain  conditions.  But  afterward, 
finding  how  unpopular  this  advice  of  the  council 
was,  the  king  declared  he  did  not  mean  to  act  upon 
it.  And  yet,  shortly  after,  he  did  act  upon  it,  and 
the  terms  of  restoration  were  solemnly  ratified.  Such 
was  the  creature  with  which  godly  men  had  to  deal ! 

The  Church  was  not  irresolute,  and  commis- 
sioners of  the  Assembly  and  certain  gentlemen 
met  at  Cupar  in  Fife,  and  sent  a  deputation  to 
remonstrate  with  the  king.  James  Melville,  on 
account  of  the  courteousness  of  his  manners  and 
the  respect  the  king  had  shown  him,  was  appointed 
their  spokesman.  But  scarcely  had  he  begun  to 
speak  when  the  king  broke  out  in  denunciation  of 
the  Cupar  meeting  as  seditious,  and  of  the  com- 
missioners as  agitators.  James  Melville  was  about 
to'  reply,  when  his  uncle,  Andrew  Melville,  seeing 
that  the  crisis  demanded  not  a  Melancthon  hut  a 
Luther,  stepped  forward  and  addressed  the  king. 
The  latter  bade  him  be  silent.  But  the  lion  was 
aroused.     Catching  the  king  by  his  robes,  he  said : 

"Thou   God's  silly  vassal!   we  always  humbly 


THE  CONFLICT.  365 

reverence  your  majesty  in  public,  but  now  in  pri- 
vate, seeing  you  in  clanger  of  your  life  and  crown, 
and  the  country  and  the  Church  going  to  wreck, 
we  must  discharge  our  duty  or  be  traitors  to  Christ 
and  you.  There  are  two  kings  and  two  kingdoms 
in  Scotland — King  James,  the  head  of  the  Com- 
monwealth, and  Christ  Jesus,  King  of  the  Church, 
whose  sul)ject  James  YI.  is,  and  of  whose  kingdom 
he  is  not  king,  lord  nor  head,  but  a  member.  Sir, 
those  wdiom  Christ  has  commanded  to  watch  over 
his  Church  have  power  and  authority  to  govern 
his  spiritual  kingdom.  AVe  will  yield  to  you  your 
place  and  give  you  all  due  obedience,  but  you  are 
not  the  head  of  the  Church;  you  cannot  give  us 
that  eternal  life  which  we  seek  for  even  in  this 
world,  and  you  cannot  deprive  us  of  it.  Sir,  when 
you  were  in  your  swaddling-clothes,  Christ  Jesus 
reigned  freely  in  this  land  in  spite  of  all  his  enemies. 
His  officers  and  ministers  convened  for  the  ruling 
and  welfare  of  his  Church,  which  was  ever  for  your 
welfare,  defence  and  preservation,  when  these  same 
enemies  were  resolving  your  destruction.  And  now, 
when  there  is  more  than  extreme  necessity  for  the 
discharge  of  that  duty,  will  you  hinder  and  dis- 
hearten Christ's  servants  and  your  most  faithful 
subjects?     The  wisdom  of  your  council,  which  I 


366  JEXXY  GEDDES. 

call  devilish,  is  this :  that  you  must  be  served  by- 
all  sorts  of  men — Jew,  Gentile,  Papist  and  Protest- 
ant ;  and  because  the  Protestants  and  ministers  of 
Scotland  are  over-strong  and  control  the  king,  they 
must  be  weakened  and  brought  low  by  stirring  up 
a  party  against  them.  But,  sir,  if  God's  wisdom 
be  the  only  true  wisdom,  this  will  prove  mere  mad 
follv.  His  curse  cannot  but  light  on  it;  in  seek- 
ing both  you  shall  lose  both  ;  whereas,  in  cleaving 
uprightly  to  God,  his  true  servants  would  be  your 
sure  friends,  and  he  would  compel  the  rest  counter- 
feitingly  and   lyingly  to  give  over  themselves  and 


THE  KIIiK  rXDER  THE  HEEL  OF  THE  KIXG. 

James  was  now  thirty  years  old.  A  despot  by 
constitution,  he  could  not  brook  the  bold,  manly 
freedom  of  Presbyterian  ism.  Licentious  and  frivo- 
lous, he  could  not  endure  a  Church  that  in  her  cen- 
sures spared  not  even  the  vices  of  a  king.  The 
facile  dispensations  of  Rome  were  much  more  to 
his  taste.  But,  by  nature  a  coward,  he  was  often 
compelled  to  make  ^^  I  dare  not  wait  upon  I  woiddy 
But  now  strengthening  passions  and  larger  experi- 
ence made  him  more  bold,  and  he  set  his  heart  upon 
humbling  the  Church  at  his  feet. 


THE  COSFLICT.  367 

However,  awed  by  the  manly  addi-ess  of  ^lelville, 
the  king  lapsed  again  into  a  more  favourable  mood, 
and  gave  his  royal  word  that  he  had  no  previous 
knowledge  of  the  return  of  the  popish  conspirators; 
that  he  would  hear  no  proposals  from  them  till 
they  had  left  the  kingdom,  and  that  even  then  he 
would  show  them  no  favours  till  they  had  satisfied 
the  Church.  "But  the  Church  got  only  words  and 
jiromises — her  enemies  got  the  deeds  and  effect." 

Seeing  measures  taken  to  restore  the  popish  lords, 
the  commissioners  of  the  Assembly  met  in  Edin- 
burgh, warned  the  presbyteries  of  the  impending 
perils,  specified  the  means  of  arresting  them,  and 
summoned  an  extraordinary  council  to  sit  in  Edin- 
burgh during  the  crisis,  and,  if  need  arose,  to  con- 
voke the  Assembly.  On  the  ninth  of  November 
the  commissioners  had  an  interview  with  his  ma- 
jesty, at  which  he  plainly  told  them  that  there 
could  be  no  agreement  between  them  and  him  until 
"the  marches  of  their  jurisdiction  were  rid,"  and 
they  concede  to  him  that  the  preachers  should  not 
introduce  matters  of  State  into  their  sermons — that 
the  Assembly  should  not  convene  without  his  com- 
mand— that  no  act  of  it  should  be  valid  till  ratified 
by  him,  and  that  no  Church  court  should  take  cog- 
nizance of  any  act  punishable  by  the  criminal  law 


368  JENNY  GEDDES. 

of  the  land.     His   first  step  toward   his  proposed 
dominion  in  the  Kirk  was  upon  the  neck  of 

David  Black, 
This  faithful  minister  of  St.  Andrew's  had  said 
something  in  a  sermon  disparaging  to  the  religious 
character  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  the  English 
ambassador  was  induced  to  lay  in  a  complaint 
against  him.  Accordingly,  he  was  summoned  be- 
fore the  privy  council  upon  a  vague  charge  of 
^'  uncomely  speeches  in  divers  sermons."  To  this 
he  objected,  as  illegal  and  inquisitorial.  He  was 
then  told  that  the  charge  related  only  to  what  he 
had  said  about  the  English  queen.  The  English 
ambassador  ex])ressed  himself  satisfied  with  Black's 
explanation,  and  withdrew  from  the  matter ;  but 
the  court,  determined  on  its  plans,  laid  in  new 
charges  against  him,  covering  a  space  of  two  or 
three  preceding  years.  Discerning  well  the  whole 
scheme,  the  conmiissioners  resolved  on  resistance 
lo  measures  evidently  aimed  at  the  enslavement  of 
the  whole  Church,  and  drew  up  a  declinature  of 
the  council's  original  jurisdiction  in  the  case, 
which  declinature,  accepted  by  Black,  was  also 
signed  by  above  three  hundred  ministers.  The 
court,  of  course,  refused   to  recognize  the  declina- 


THE  COyFLTCT.  369 

lure,  and,  having  found  Black  guilty,  banished 
him  beyond  the  Tay  until  his  majesty  should  de- 
cide upon  further  punishment. 

On  the  morning  of  the  trial  the  commissioners 
presented  a  solemn  address  to  the  king  and  coun- 
cil, calling  on  God  to  witness  between  them  and 
their  malicious  opposers,  protesting  their  loyalty 
and  their  purpose  to  serve  him  as  faithful  subjects, 
appealing  to  the  king's  own  knowledge  of  their 
conduct  in  other  trying  times,  accusing  the  king's 
enemies  of  urging  on  this  matter  far  beyond  his 
original  intent,  beseeching  him  to  remit  the  case  to 
the  decision  of  the  Assembly,  and  warning  him 
that  if  he  proceeded  to  abridge  the  liberty  of  the 
Church,  the  wrath  of  God  would  be  kindled 
against  him. 

As  the  trial  proceeded.  Interview  followed  inter- 
view between  the  king  and  the  commissioners,  but 
James  would  accept  of  nothing  but  complete  sub- 
mission on  the  part  of  Black  and  his  friends.  The 
ministers  replied  that  if  the  matter  "concerned  only 
the  life  of  Black,  or  of  a  dozen  others,  they  would 
consider  it  of  comparatively  trifling  importance; 
but,  as  it  was  the  liberty  of  Christ's  gospel  that 
was  concerned,  they  could  not  submit,  but  must 
oppose  even   to   the  hazard  of  their  lives."      As 

24 


370  JENNY  GEDDES. 

Bruce  thus  spoke  the  wretched  king  was  moved 
to  tears,  but  his  remorse  soon  passed  away  under 
the  goadings  of  his  courtiers,  who  assured  him  that 
he  had  gone  too  far  to  retrace  his  steps. 

The  kino;  ordered  the  commissioners  to  leave 
Edinburgh,  and  an  act  of  council  ordained  that 
ministers  before  receiving  their  stipend  should 
subscribe  a  bond  to  submit  to  the  king  and  council 
as  often  as  they  were  accused  of  seditious  or  trea- 
sonable doctrine,  and  commanding  all  magistrates 
to  imprison  any  ministers  whom  they  should  hear 
uttering  such  language  from  the  pulpit.  A  con- 
vention of  the  estates  and  a  General  Assembly 
was  ordered  to  meet  in  Edinburgh  on  the  1 5th  of 
February  following,  to  take  into  consideration  the 
"  whole  order  and  policy  of  the  Kirk." 

In  December  the  alarming  rumour  was  spread 
that  Huntly  had  arrived  and  had  been  admitted  to 
the  royal  presence.  The  alarm  was  increased  by 
the  fact  that  twenty-four  of  the  most  zealous  citi- 
zens had  just  been  ordered  to  leave  Edinburgh. 
A  meeting  of  barons,  burgesses  and  ministers  sent 
a  deputation  to  the  king,  then  in  the  Tolbooth,  with 
the  lords  of  session.     Bruce,  their  spokesman,  said: 

"  We  are  sent  to  lay  before  you  the  dangers  that 
threaten  religion." 


THE  CONFLICT.  371 

"  What  dangers  see  you  ?" 

"That  Huntly  has  beeu  admitted  to  your  ma- 
jesty." 

"  What  have  you  to  do  with  that  ?  and  how 
durst  you  convene  against  my  proclamation  ?'' 

"  We  dare  do  more  than  that,'^  said  Lord  Lind- 
say, "and  will  not  suffer  religion  to  be  over- 
thrown." 

Upon  this  the  king  withdrew,  and  the  deputa- 
tion returned  to  the  meeting  to  make  their  report. 
While  considering  what  should  be  done  some  one 
entered  the  church  and  exclaimed : 

"  Fly,  fly,  save  yourselves !  the  papists  are  com- 
ing to  massacre  you  !" 

Just  then  the  cry  was  heard  in  the  streets,  "  To 
arms  !  to  arms  !"  and  some  one  in  the  Assembly 
oalled  out,  "  The  sword  of  the  Lord  and  of  Gid- 
eon !'^  The  Assembly  rushed  in  a  panic  into  the 
streets,  and  for  a  time  all  was  wild  confusion;  but 
by  aid  of  the  ministers  and  magistrates  the  dis- 
turbance was  soon  quelled  without  injury  to  any 
one. 

The  incensed  king  posted  the  next  morning  to 
Linlithgow,  discharging  first  a  Parthian  quiver- 
full  of  proclamations,  ordering  all  in  public  office 
to  repair  to  him,  strangers  to  leave  the  city,  the 


372  JENNY  GEDDES, 

ministers  of  Edinburgh  to  enter  into  confinement 
in  the  castle,  the  magistrates  to  apprehend  them, 
and  declaring  the  tumult  to  be  a  cruel  and  barbar- 
ous attempt  against  king,  nobility  and  council  at  the 
instigation  of  certain  seditious  ministers  and  barons. 

To  carry  out  this  stroke  of  kingcraft  his  majesty 
came  back  in  January  to  Edinburgh  at  the  head 
of  an  army  breathing  out  threatenings  and  slaugh- 
ter :  he  would  raze  their  city  to  the  ground  and 
sow  it  with  salt,  and  erect  a  monument  there  to 
perpetuate  the  memory  of  such  treason.  The  ter- 
rified citizens  trembled  before  the  king  in  his  well- 
feigned  wrath,  and  surrendered  all  their  liberties 
into  his  hands,  and  were  then  graciously  forgiven. 
The  ministers  also  bowed  before  the  storm  and 
withdrew  from  the  capital. 

From  the  neck  of  David  Black  the  king^  now 
stepped  upon  the  neck  of  the  Assembly,  and  inau- 
gurated a  system  of  Church  corruption  in  the 

Perth  Assembly. 
To  open  the  way  Secretary  Lindsay  published  in 
the  king's  name  fifty-five  captious  questions  for 
discussion,  and  a  convention  of  the  estates  and  a 
meeting  of  the  Assembly  was  summoned  to  meet 
at  Perth  in  the  following  February. 


THE  COXFLFCT.  373 

In  the  mean  time  the  Church  displayed  her  old 
heroic  spirit.  The  Presbytery  of  Haddington  sus- 
pended a  minister  for  agreeing  Avithout  their  con- 
sent to  an  arrangement  with  the  privy  council  for 
supplying  the  pulpits  of  Edinburgh.  The  Synod 
of  Lothian  testified  their  dissatisfaction  with  the 
king.  Though  denied  their  stipends  till  they  had 
subscribed  the  king's  bond,  scarce  one  could  be  in- 
duced to  subscribe.  The  Synod  of  Fife  answered 
his  majesty's  propositions,  remonstrated  with  the 
king  against  holding  the  extraordinary  meeting  of 
the  Assembly,  but,  if  the  meeting  should  be  held, 
instructing  the  presbyteries  under  their  charge  to 
send  commissioners,  but  forbidding  them  to  acknow- 
ledge the  lawfulness  of  the  Assembly,  or  to  consent 
to  its  handling  the  matter  of  Church  polity. 

His  majesty,  running  his  eye  along  this  bold 
front  of  Scotch  Presbyterianism,  and  conscious  of 
his  lack  of  boldness  to  confront  it  W'ith  force,  easily 
fell  back  upon  his  constitutional  cunning  and  fa- 
vourite kingcraft.  Sir  Patrick  Murray  w^as  sent  out 
among  the  distant  presbyteries,  whose  members, 
remote  from  the  great  centres,  and  poor  withal, 
had  rarely  attended  the  Assembly,  and  by  playing 
upon  their  ignorance  and  little  jealousies,  and  by 
promises  and  flatteries,  succeeded  in  gaining  for  his 


374  JENNY  GEDDES. 

master  an  Assembly  tlie  majority  of  which  could 
be  easily  manipulated  by  the  king  into  his  measures. 

Andrew  Melville  could  not  be  present,  but  James 
was  there  and  ready  to  do  his  duty.  After  three 
days'  debate,  the  court  intriguers  succeeding  in  car- 
rying an  affirmation  that  the  Assembly  w^as  a  lawful 
one.  James  Melville,  disgusted  wdth  the  weak- 
ness of  some  of  his  brethren  and  w^ith  the  corrupt- 
ing arts  with  wdiich  the  Assembly  was  controlled, 
withdrew  from  the  body.  The  Fife  commissioners 
remained,  but  under  protest  against  the  lawfulness 
of  the  meeting.  Answers  were  now  obtained  to 
the  king's  questions,  such  as  satisfied  his  majesty 
for  the  present,  and  paved  the  way  for  such  other 
and  more  decided  innovations  as  the  king  had  in 
view. 

This  Perth  Assembly  was  remarkable  as  the  first 
in  which  kingcraft  wrought  its  will  by  corrupting 
the  membership.  "  Coming  to  Perth,"  writes  James 
Melville,  '^  we  found  the  ministers  of  the  north  in 
such  numbers  as  Avas  not  common  in  Assemblies, 
and  each  one  a  greater  courtier  than  another ;  so 
that  my  ears  heard  new  notes  and  my  eyes  saw  a 
new  sight,  to  wit:  flocks  of  ministers  going  in  and 
out  at  the  king's  palace  late  at  night  and  betimes 
in  the  morning.     Sir  Patrick  Murray,  the  diligent 


THE  CONFLICT.  375 

Apostle  of  the  Xorth,  made  all  the  northland  minis- 
ters acquainted  with  the  king.  They  began  to 
look  big  in  the  matter,  and  find  fault  with  the  min- 
isters of  the  south  and  the  popes  of  Edinburgh, 
who  had  not  handled  matters  well,  and  had  almost 
lost  the  king."  Thus  the  silly  flies  were  entangled, 
leg  and  wing,  in  the  royal  spider's  web. 

Grieved,  but  not  surprised,  Andrew  Melville, 
with  certain  of  his  brethren,  held  a  meeting  at  the 
time  and  j^lace  for  the  regular  meeting  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  and  then  adjourned. 

The  Dundee  Assemblies. 
James  called  the  General  Assembly  together  at 
Dundee  in  May,  and,  though  with  the  utmost  diffi- 
culty he  succeeded  in  carrying  through  his  measures, 
the  Assembly  was  induced  to  declare  the  Perth 
Assembly  lawful  and  regular,  and,  with  certain 
explanations,  to  approve  of  its  acts  and  to  give 
guarded  replies  to  some  of  the  king's  questions. 
They  even  consented  to  receive  back  again  the 
popish  lords  on  certain  conditions,  and  api)ointed  a 
committee  of  fourteen  ministers,  any  seven  of  whom 
might  convene  with  his  majesty  to  make  arrange- 
ments respecting  the  ministers  of  St.  Andrew's  and 
Edinburgh,  the  providing  of  stipends  for  the  min- 


376  JENNY  GEDDES. 

isters  throughout  the  khigdom,  and  to  give  the 
king  advice  concerning  the  weal  of  the  Church 
throughout  the  reahn.  Thus  a  feather  was  plucked 
from  the  eagle's  breast  wherewith  to  wing  an  arrow 
to  its  heart,  and  this  was  ^'a  needle  formed  to  draw 
in  the  episcopal  thread."  Nearly  all  the  commis- 
sion were  the  devoted  tools  of  the  king.  Through 
them  his  majesty  called  presbyteries  before  him, 
reversed  their  decisions  and  restored  a  suspended 
minister  to  office.  And  now  the  king  expressed 
the  desire  that  the  Kirk  should  have  a  share  in  the 
government  of  the  nation — that  is,  that  by  its  com- 
missioners in  Parliament  it  should  assent  to  his 
measures  of  absolutism.  To  this  end  he  induced 
the  commissioners  to  request,  and  the  Parliament 
to  grant,  that  the  Church  might  have  a  voice  in 
the  supreme  council  of  the  nation,  and  Prelacy  was 
declared  to  be  the  third  estate  in  the  kingdom — 
that  such  ministers  as  his  majesty  should  raise  to 
the  Prelacy  might  sit  and  vote  in  Parliament — 
and  that  bishoprics,  as  they  became  vacant,  might 
be  given  to  those  Avho  would  act  as  preachers  and 
ministers,  the  spiritual  powers  of  the  bishops  to  be 
adjusted  by  his  majesty  and  his  majesty's  General 
Assembly.  Thus  the  royal  rogue  succeeded  in 
handing  Presbytery  over,  bound  hand  and  foot,  to 


THE  CONFLICT.  377 

Prelacy,  and  the  whole  scheme  was  a  deadly  blow 
to  liberty,  civil  and  religious. 

Over  these  proceedings  the  Synod  of  Fife  held 
long  and  earnest  conference,  disapproving  of  the 
Avhole  matter — the  Melvillcs,  the  patriarchs  Fer- 
guson and  Davidson  denouncing  it,  and  the  latter 
exclaiming : 

"  Busk,  busk  him  as  bonullie  as  ye  can,  and 
fetch  him  in  as  fairlie  as  ye  will,  we  see  him  well 
enough ;  we  see  the  horns  of  the  mitre." 

At  another  meeting  of  the  Assembly,  at  Dundee, 
in  May,  1598,  well  packed  by  the  king  with  his 
northern  legion,  this  act  of  Parliament  came  under 
consideration.  Before  the  Assembly  proceeded  to 
business  every  practicable  member  was  personally 
manipulated  by  the  king.  But  armed  as  the  king 
w^as  by  an  act  of  Parliament  and  the  assent  of  his 
commissioners,  and  the  subserviency  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Assembly,  there  was  one  man  whose 
presence  and  influence  he  sorely  dreaded,  and  that 
man  w\as  Andrew  Melville.  When  his  name  was 
called  on  the  roll  of  the  Assembly,  his  majesty 
denied  his  right  to  sit.  Melville  made  his  defence. 
He  had  a  commission  from  his  presbytery,  and 
would  not  betray  his  right.  Davidson  reminded 
the  king  that  he  was  not  president  of  that  body. 


378  JENNY  GEDDES. 

But  with  James  might  was  instead  of  right,  and 
he  ordered  Melville  to  his  lodgings  and  then  from 
the  city.  Knox,  of  Melrose,  boldly  said  that  this 
interdiction  proceeded  from  fear  of  Melville's 
learning. 

"  I  will  not  hear  one  word  on  that  head,"  said 
the  king. 

^^  Then,"  said  Davidson,  "  we  must  crave  help 
of  Him  that  will  hear  us." 

A  week  having  been  spent  in  efforts  to  mould 
the  Assembly  to  the  king's  wishes,  his  majesty  in- 
troduced the  business  of  the  hour  in  a  speech,  in 
which  he  applauded  his  own  services  to  the 
Church,  protested  his  anxiety  for  her  welfare,  and 
disclaimed  all  intention  of  intruding  popish  or 
Anglican  bishops  into  the  Church.  He  only  de- 
sired that  certain  of  the  best  and  wisest  ministers, 
appointed  by  the  Assembly,  should  have  an  hon- 
ourable and  influential  place  in  the  council  and 
Parliament  of  the  realm. 

The  question  was,  "  Is  it  necessary  and  ex- 
pedient, for  the  welfare  of  the  Church,  that  the 
ministry  as  the  third  estate  should,  in  the  name 
of  the  Church,  have  a  vote  in  Parliament  ?"  A 
warm  and  protracted  debate  ensued,  in  which  all 
the  best  and  ablest  ministers  united   in  rejecting 


THE  CONFLICT.  379 

the  wealth,  rank  and  power  thus  offered  them. 
Gladstanes  pleaded  the  power  of  heathen  priests 
in  ancient  Rome.     Davidson  answered  : 

*^The  priests  were  consulted,  but  they  were 
allowed  no  vote." 

"Where  have  you  that?'*  asked  the  king. 

"In  Titus  Livius." 

"  Oh !  You  are  going  from  the  Scriptures  to 
Titus  Livius !"  sneered  the  king,  as  if  the  Scrip- 
tures detailed  the  duties  of  Koman  priests. 

The  question,  being  put  to  vote,  was  carried  by 
a  majority  of  ten ;  many  of  the  elders  in  the  ma- 
jority, as  was  asserted,  being  without  any  com- 
mission. Davidson,  who  had  refused  to  vote,  laid 
in  a  protest  against  the  proceedings  of  this  and  the 
two  preceding  Assemblies,  on  the  ground  that  they 
Avere  not  free,  but  overawed  by  the  king,  and  re- 
stricted in  their  privileges.  This  protest  was 
signed  by  forty  and  more  ministers. 

The  Assembly  then  chose  fifty-one  ministers — 
according  to  the  number  of  the  ancient  bishops, 
abbots  and  priors — to  represent  the  Church,  to  be 
elected  partly  by  the  king  and  partly  by  the 
Church.  But,  before  they  had  gone  far  in  adjust- 
ing the  matter  of  the  elections,  the  ministers  began 
to  see  whither  things  were  tending  and  drew  back 


380  JENNY  GEDDES. 

a  little,  and  the  king,  fearing  to  press  them  too 
hard,  referred  the  subject  to  the  next  Assembly. 

In  the  numerous  meetings  for  conference  among 
the  ministers  that  ensued,  such  opposition  to  the 
scheme  was  developed  that  tlie  king  postponed  the 
proposed  meeting  of  the  Assembly  to  give  further 
time  for  kingcraft. 

In  November,  1599,  he  called  a  conference  of 
ministers  at  Holyrood,  that  he  miglit  learn  in  ad- 
vance what  arguments  were  likely  to  be  urged 
against  his  plan  when  the  Assembly  shoukl  meet. 
At  the  opening  of  the  conference  the  king  signified 
that  the  largest  liberty  of  discussion  woukl  be 
allowed.  A  chief  question  discussed  was,  '^  Is  it 
consistent  with  the  nature  of  their  office,  and  the 
provisions  of  Scripture  that  gospel  ministers  un- 
dertake a  civil  function?" 

On  this  question  Melville  deduced  the  history 
of  the  blending  of  civil  and  ecclesiastical  functions 
under  the  Papacy,  and  warned  the  king  to  take 
heed  lest  he  set  up  a  power  that  would  yet  cast 
him  and  his  successors  down. 

Then  came  the  question  as  to  the  duration  of 
this  office ;  one  party  pleading  for  annual  elections, 
the  other  for  official  position  during  good  be- 
haviour. 


THE  CONFLICT.  381 

The  orthodox  party  held  that  permanent  civil 
office  and  emolument  would  corrupt  the  incum- 
bent— make  him  the  tool  of  the  king  and  the  enemy 
of  the  Church. 

''There  is  no  fear  but  you  will  all  prove  true 
enough  to  your  craft,"  said  the  king. 

"  God  make  us  all  true  enough  to  Christ," 
answered  Melville. 

''  There  is  nothing  so  good  but  it  may  be  sus- 
pected of  evil." 

"  We  doubt  the  goodness  of  the  thing,  and  have 
but  too  much  reason  to  suspect  its  evil." 

"We  will  not  admit  ministers  but  for  life.  If 
you  refuse  this  you  lose  the  benefit." 

"The  loss  will  be  small." 

"  Ministers  will  then  be  in  poverty  and  con- 
tempt." 

"  It  was  their  Master's  case  before  them.  Bet- 
ter poverty  with  sincerity  than  promotion  with 
corruption." 

"Then  others  will  be  promoted  to  their  place 
who  will  ruin  the  Church." 

"Then  let  Christ,  the  King  of  the  Church, 
avenge  her  wrongs." 

At  the  next  morning  the  moderator  summed  up 
the  points  in  the  debate,  and   intimated  that  the 


382  JENNY  GEDDES. 

mind  of  the  conference  was  in  harmony  with  the 
wishes  of  the  court.  A  murmur  of  dissent  ran 
around  the  hall,  and  Melville  asked  if  any  one 
could  imagine  that  a  matter  of  such  weight  could 
be  settled  in  such  a  conference^  where  the  Scrip- 
tures had  been  rather  profaned  than  solemnly 
handled  ?  At  this  the  king  politely  told  Melville 
that  he  lied,  and  adjourned  the  conference  w^ith  the 
threat  that  he  would  leave  the  refractory  ministers 
to  poverty,  and  of  his  own  act  fill  the  vacant  bish- 
oprics with  men  who  would  serve  him  and  the 
realm. 

The  Melrose  Assembly. 

At  Melrose  the  Assembly  met,  in  March,  1600. 
It  was  very  full,  and  all  felt  that  king  or  Kirk  was 
now  to  win  a  victory  of  decided  results.  Andrew 
Melville  was  on  the  spot.  The  king  sent  for  him 
and  reproached  him  as  a  troubler  of  the  Church. 
Melville  pleaded  his  commission.  The  king  threat- 
ened. Melville  withdrew,  putting  his  hand  to  his 
neck  and  saying : 

^'  Sir,  it  is  this  you  would  have,  and  you  shall 
have  it  before  I  betray  the  cause  of  Christ." 

Forbidden  to  sit  in  the  Assembly,  he  remained 
near  by  to  assist  by  his  counsels.  The  great  ques- 
tion   was,  "Shall   ministers   sit   in  Parliament?" 


THE  CONFLICT.  383 

Seeing  that  the  vote  would  go  against  him,  James 
interfered  and  said  that  the  question  had  been 
already  settled,  and  withdrew  it  from  farther  con- 
sideration. 

The  vote  on  the  duration  of  the  office  went  for 
annual  elections,  yet  kingcraft  secured  a  modifi- 
cation of  the  minute  that  gave  James  all  he 
wanted',  and  at  the  close  of  the  Assembly  he  got 
the  minute  approved  by  the  house.  The  voters, 
however,  were  to  have  the  name  simply  of  com- 
missioners. The  Church  was  to  nominate  six  in 
each  province,  of  whom  the  king  was  to  choose 
one,  and  the  commissioner  was  to  propose  nothing 
in  Parliament,  convention  or  council  without  the 
express  sanction  of  the  Church,  nor  vote  for  any 
measure  prejudicial  to  her  interests.  He  must  re- 
port his  action  to  the  xlssembly,  and  submit  to  its 
censure  without  appeal.  He  should  have  no  power 
in  presbytery  but  what  belonged  to  other  minis- 
ters ;  with  various  other  restricting  provisions,  cal- 
culated, if  faithfully  observed,  to  make  the  measure 
as  harmless  as  possible. 

But,  as  one  of  the  king's  sycophants  wrote,  ^'  It 
was  neither  the  king's  intention  nor  that  of  the 
loiser  sort  to  observe  these  cautions."  To  demon- 
strate this,  the  king  called  a  meeting  of  the  com- 


384  JEXNY  GEBDES. 

missioners  of  the  Assembly,  in  October,  to  advise 
with  him  about  filling  the  Edinburgh  pulpits,  and 
"such  other  things  as  he  thought  to  be  for  the 
weal  of  Church  and  king,  at  the  next  Parliament/' 
To  open  the  way  for  the  outcarrying  of  his  plans, 
the  royal  trickster  rid  himself  of  the  presence  of 
James  Melville  by  securing  his  appointment  on  a 
committee  to  transact  some  business  without  the 
body,  and  during  their  absence  he  obtained  the 
nomination  of  David  Lindsay,  Peter  Blackburn 
and  George  Gladstanes  to  the  bishoprics  severally 
of  Ross,  Aberdeen  and  Caithness ;  and  this  pro- 
ceeding was  carefully  concealed  from  those  absent 
members  until  the  meeting  was  dissolved,  and 
these  bishops,  so  appointed,  sat  and  voted  in  the 
next  Parliament!  James  dreamed  that  nio-ht  that 
he  was  crowned  the  Solomon  of  kinojcraft. 

Thus,  whatever  else  the  king  neglected,  he  was 
shrewd  enough  to  watch  the  Church,  being  always 
present  at  the  sittings  of  both  commission  and  As- 
sembly, and  ever  ready  to  "regale  his  friends" 
with  delicate  specimens  of  royal  wit — calling  one 
member  a  "seditious  Knox,''  another  "a  liar" — 
saying  to  one,  "  that's  witchlike,"  and  to  another 
"  that's  anabaptistical." 

All  this  while  James  was  looking  wistfully  to- 


THE  CONFLICT.  385 

ward  the  English  throne,  and  was  striving  in  every- 
way to  conciliate  the  powerful  Romish  party  iii 
both  kingdoms.  He  even  sent  a  secret  embassy  to 
the  pope;  and,  restoring  to  Archbisho2)  Beaton  the 
temporalities  of  the  see  of  St.  Andrew's,  sent  him 
ambassador  to  the  court  of  France. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  he  issued  his  master- 
pieces, "  The  Free  Law  of  Free  Monarchies"  and 
*'  Basilicon  Doron,''  in  which  he  affirmed  that  a 
chief  duty  of  the  monarch  consists  in  ruling  the 
Church — to  judge  when  a  preacher  wanders  from 
his  text — to  forbid  ecclesiastical  councils  except  by 
his  consent — that  no  man  is  to  be  more  hated  by 
a  king  than  a  proud  Puritan — that  parity  in  the 
ministry  is  irreconcilable  with  monarchy,  and  the 
mother  of  confusion — that  Puritans  were  demo- 
cratic in  their  principles — that  Parity  should  be 
banished  and  Episcopacy  set  up,  and  that  all  who 
preached  against  bishops  should  be  punished. 
How  could  Romanists  and  Prelatists  longer  doubt 
that  the  author  of  such  doctrines  was  just  the  man 
to  be  king  of  England  ? 

The  "  Gowrie  conspiracy'^  put  a  new  scourge  into 
the  hand  of  the  royal  persecutor.  Alexander  Ruth- 
ven  and  John,  earl  of  Gowrie,  men  of  great  popu- 
larity and  acknowledged  piety,  seem  to  have  formed 

25 


386  JENNY  QEDDES. 

some  sort  of  a  conspiracy  with  reference  to  the  king. 
Its  aim  is  yet  a  mystery,  though  papers  subse- 
quently discovered  prove  that  it  was  no  part  of 
that  aim  to  shed  the  king's  blood. 

The  king's  story  was  this  :  "  On  his  way  a-hunt- 
ing,  Alexander  met  and  induced  him  to  accompany 
him  to  his  house,  where  his  majesty  was  set  upon 
by  the  brothers,  both  of  whom  were  slain  in  the 
struggle.  The  earl  was  run  through  the  body,  but 
no  blood  was  seen,  because,  said  the  king,  the  vic- 
tim had  in  his  pocket  a  bundle  of  magical  parch- 
ments ;  when  these  were  removed,  the  blood  gushed 
out!''  As  the  absence  of  these  popular  men  was 
very  convenient  to  the  king,  and  as  no  imaginable 
motive  could  be  suggested  for  any  attempt  on  their 
part  at  his  life,  many  believed  that  the  king  himself 
was  the  only  guilty  one.  And  the  known  want  of 
veracity  of  the  monarch,  and  his  furious  resolve 
that  all  should  believe  his  story,  increased  the  sus- 
picion against  him.  At  Edinburgh  he  vowed  ven- 
geance on  all  who  would  not  express  belief  in  his 
tale.  A  form  of  j^ublic  thanksgiving  for  his  mar- 
vellous deliverance  was  dictated  by  the  king  and 
enjoined  upon  all  ministers.  The  ministers  of  Ed- 
inburgh were  not  unwilling  to  give  thanks  that  the 
king's  life  was  preserved,  but,  as  they  did  not  fully 


THE  CONFLICT.  387 

believe  what  he  wished  them  to  express,  they  modi- 
fied his  form  of  thanksgiving.  Five  of  them  were 
promptly  banished  and  forbidden  to  preach  in  Scot- 
land. Four  soon  submitted,  but  Bruce  would  not 
submit,  and  was  banished  the  kingdom,  and  though 
allowed  afterward  to  return,  he  was  never  for- 
given. 

In  1601,  two  months  before  the  appointed  time, 
James,  having  failed  in  his  embassy  to  the  Pope, 
and  feeling  the  odium  increased  by  the  slaughter  of 
the  earl  of  Gowrie,  called  a  meeting  of  the  General 
Assembly  at  Burntisland.  At  this  Assembly  a 
faithful,  forcible  letter  was  read  from  John  David- 
son. The  spiritual  confusions  and  disorders  of  the 
land  came  under  consideration,  during  which  James 
was  attacked  with  one  of  his  temporary  paroxysms 
of  piety.  He  rose  in  the  Assembly,  and,  with  tears 
in  his  eyes,  confessed  his  offences,  and  lifting  his 
hand,  vowed  that  he  would  live  and  die  in  the  re- 
ligion of  his  country  and  defend  it  against  all  ad- 
versaries. At  his  request,  the  Assembly  followed 
his  royal  example,  and  this  vow  was  ordered  to  be 
mentioned  from  the  pulpits  on  the  following  Sab- 
bath for  the  edification  of  the  realm.  But  sore  ex- 
perience kept  the  Assembly  this  time  from  going 
into  any  ecstasies  over  the  matter.     It  soon  ad- 


388  JENNY  GEDBES. 

jounied,  and  James  laid  off  his  piety  and  took  up 
the  sword  of  persecution. 

In  1602,  the  king,  on  his  own  authority  chang- 
ing the  time  and  place  of  meeting,  summoned  the 
Assembly  at  Holyrood  House  in  November. 
James  Melville  gave  in  a  protest  against  this  arbi- 
trary procedure.  The  Assembly,  however,  by  its 
acts  showed  that  the  spirit  of  true  Presbyterianism 
yet  survived.  With  this  year  ended  James'  residence 
in  Scotland,  and  this  Assembly  was  the  last  Assem- 
bly recognized  by  the  Church  of  Scotland  as  free 
and  lawful  for  a  dismal  period  of  thirty-six  years. 
The  Church  now  lay  prostrate  under  the  heel  of 
the  king. 

"THB    BZACK    SATUItJyAT." 

Toward  the  close  of  April,  1603,  Queen  Eliza- 
beth closed  her  eventful  life  and  reign  together, 
and  James  VI.  of  Scotland  became  James  I.  of 
England,  and  was  proclaimed  "  king  of  Scotland, 
England,  France  and  Ireland."  The  ministers 
waited  on  him  with  their  congratulations,  though 
too  well  assured  that  in  the  hands  of  the  English 
Prelacy  his  disposition  toward  the  Church  of  his 
country  could  be  no  way  improved.  They  listened, 
however,  to  his  farewell  speech,  in  which  he  as- 
sured  them  of  his  approbation  of  the  Church  of 


THE  CONFLICT.  389 

Scotland,  and    his  purpose  to  maintain  it  in  its 
present  form. 

The  honesty  and  sincerity  of  James,  and  the 
contrast  between  Presbyterian  ism  and  Prelacy,  re- 
ceived a  noted  illustration  at  the  Hampton  Court 
Conference,  held  soon  after  the  king  reached  Lon- 
don. It  lasted  three  days.  On  the  first  day 
bishops  and  deans  only  Avere  admitted,  and  the 
king  felicitated  himself  before  them  that  he  was 
now  come  into  the  promised  land,  that  he  sat 
among  grave  and  reverend  men,  and  was  a  king, 
not  as  formerly  without  state,  nor  in  a  place  where 
beardless  boys  could  brave  him  to  his  face;  and 
said  that  he  had  called  this  conference  not  with 
any  thought  of  innovation,  but  to  take  some  tri- 
fling notice  of  alleged  irregularities.  On  the  sec- 
ond day  five  ministers  were  admitted  and  two 
bishops  and  six  or  eight  deans.  AVhile  Dr.  Ray- 
nolds  was  speaking  like  a  man,  Bancroft,  bishop 
of  London,  fell  on  his  knees,  begging  the  king  to 
stop  the  schismatic's  mouth.  As  Raynolds  pro- 
ceeded the  king  interrupted  him,  saying  that  he 
found  them  "aiming  at  a  Scots'  Presbytery,  which 
agrees  as  well  with  monarchy  as  God  and  the 
devil.  Then  Jack  and  Tom  and  Will  and  Dick 
shall  meet,  and  at  their  pleasure  censure  both  me 


390  JENNY  GEDDES. 

and  my  council.  Therefore  pray  stay  one  seven 
years,  and  if  then  you  find  me  pursy  and  fat  and 
my  windpipe  stuffed,  I  will  perhaps  hearken  to 
you." 

Then  turning  to  the  bishops,  he  said :  "  My 
lords,  I  may  thank  you  that  these  Puritans  plead 
for  my  supremacy,  for  if  you  were  out  and  they  in 
place,  I  know  what  would  become  of  my  suprem- 
acy, for — No  bishop,  no  king."  Then  rising  from 
his  seat,  he  added  to  Dr.  Raynolds :  "  If  this  be  all 
your  party  have  to  say,  I  will  make  them  conform 
or  I  will  harry  them  out  of  this  land,  or  else 
worse." 

The  Prelatists  were  in  ecstasies.  Bancroft  fell 
on  his  knees  and  j^rotested  that  "  his  heart  melted 
for  joy  that  Almighty  God,  of  his  singular  mercy, 
had  given  them  such  a  king  as  since  Christ's  time 
had  not  been." 

Tidings  of  these  events,  and  of  the  king's  decla- 
ration in  Parliament  that  he  detested  the  Puritans, 
that  their  ^'  confused  form  of  policy  and  parity 
made  them  a  sect  insufferable  in  any  well-governed 
commonwealth,"  did  not  serve  to  reassure  the  Scot- 
tish mind  and  heart. 

Ere  long  the  Scottish  Parliament  met  to  con- 
sider the  basis  of  union  between  the  two  kingdoms. 


THE  CONFLICT.  391 

The  Synod  of  Fife  asked  liberty  to  hold  a  General 
Assembly,  and  when  this  was  refused  they  address- 
ed the  Church  commissioners  in  Parliament,  and 
adjured  them  to  defend  the  government  of  the 
Church,  and  vowed  "  before  God  and  the  elect 
angels"  that  they  would  rather  die  than  allow 
Presbytery  to  be  overthrown.  Xor  was  their  ap- 
peal in  vain.  Parliament  passed  an  act  prohibit- 
ing the  commissioners  for  union  from  treating  of 
anything  that  concerned  the  religion  of  the  realm. 
Resolved  on  keeping  the  Kirk  under  his  royal 
heel,  James  forbade  the  Assembly  to  meet  accord- 
ing to  appointment  at  Aberdeen  in  July,  but  the 
Presbytery  of  St.  Andrew's  sent  their  commission- 
ers, who  met  and  protested  that  they  had  done 
their  duty,  and  that  any  dangers  arising  from  the 
coward  1}^  neglect  of  others  should  not  be  imputed 
to  them.  When  the  Synod  of  Fife  met,  so  many 
commissioners  were  present  from  all  parts  of  the 
kingdom  that  it  was  almost  a  General  Assembly. 
At  this  meeting  and  at  the  one  held  afterward  at 
Perth,  the  parliamentary  bishops  were  cliarged 
with  hindering  the  meeting  of  the  Assembly,  to 
prolong  their  own  powers  and  avoid  its  censures 
for  their  misconduct.  The  sycophant  Gladstanes 
hastened  to  convey  information  of  these  matters  to 


392  JENNY  OEDDES. 

the  king,  and  secured  from  him  an  order  for  the 
imprisonment  of  the  Melvilles  for  their  fidelity  in 
the  matter — an  order,  however,  which  the  privy 
council  dared  not  execute. 

All  haters  of  liberty  detest  popular  assemblies, 
and  to  the  Stuarts  nothing  was  more  odious  than 
parliaments  and  presbyterial  courts.  Accordingly, 
when  the  time  drew  near  for  the  meeting  of  the 
General  Assembly  in  1605,  James  prorogued  it 
without  naming  any  day  for  its  gathering.  This 
violation  of  repeated  parliamentary  enactment  in 
the  case,  looking  evidently  to  the  abolition  of  the 
Assembly,  the  overthrow  of  Presbytery  and  the 
perpetuation  of  the  bishops'  term  of  office,  pricked 
the  matter  to  the  core,  and  challenged  the  Kirk  to 
action  or  death.  They  preferred  the  former ;  and 
when  the  day  arrived  for  the  meeting  of  the  As- 
sembly nine  presbyteries  were  present  by  their 
commissioners  at  Aberdeen.  To  this  meeting  the 
king's  commissioner  presented  a  letter  from  the 
privy  council,  addressed  to  "  the  brethren  of  the 
ministry  convened  at  their  Assembly  in  Aberdeen." 
Before  hearing  the  letter  read  they  constituted  the 
Assembly,  and  during  the  reading  of  the  letter  a 
messenger-at-arms  entei'ed  and  bade  them  dismiss 
on  pain  of  rebellion.    The  Assembly  declared  their 


THE  CONFLICT.  393 

readiness  to  obey  if  the  commissioner  would  name 
the  time  and  place  for  a  future  meeting.  He  re- 
fusing, the  moderator  named  Aberdeen  as  the  place, 
and  the  last  Tuesday  of  September  as  the  time,  for 
the  next  meeting,  and  the  Assembly  adjourned. 
Thus  nobly  did  the  Assembly  war  against  princi- 
palities and  powers  and  spirits  of  wickedness  in 
high  places. 

Of  course  James  was  not  overpleased.  Indeed, 
his  wrath  knew  no  bounds.  By  this  time  he  Avas 
Avarm  in  his  English  nest,  made  soft  by  prelatic 
feathers.  At  first  he  had  seemed  to  waver  a  little. 
Even  James  did  not  like  to  change  his  coat  in  an 
liour.  And  during  the  very  brief  period  of  his 
seeming  vacillation  it  is  said  that  a  stern  old  Puri- 
tan chaplain  treated  his  majesty  to  a  sermon  on  the 
text,  James  i.  6:  "He  that  wavereth  is  like  a  wave 
of  the  sea,  driven  with  the  wind  and  tossed."  But 
he  was  now  happily  beyond  the  reach  of  torment- 
ing Puritan  sermons,  and  when  he  heard  of  the 
bravery  of  the  ministers  and  ruling  elders  at  Aber- 
deen, he  ordered  the  arrest  and  imprisonment  of 
fourteen  of  the  most  loyal  ministers,  and  John 
Forbes,  the  moderator,  and  John  Welsh,  the  son-in- 
law  of  Knox,  were  confined  in  separate*  cells  in  the 
Castle  of  Blackness.     Declining  the  jurisdiction  of 


394  JENNY  GEDDES. 

the  privy  council/ they  were  indicted  for  high  trea- 
son. Six  were  found  guilty  and  thrown  into  prison 
to  await  his  majesty's  will,  and  orders  soon  came 
from  the  despot  to  proceed  with  the  remaining 
eight. 

The  heroic  conduct  of  the  ministers  sent  a  thrill 
through  the  heroic  heart  of  Scotland,  and  the  des- 
potic conduct  of  the  king  filled  that  heart  with  in- 
dignation. Proclamations  forbade  the  people,  on 
pain  of  death,  either  to  pray  for  the  imprisoned 
ministers  or  to  call  in  question  the  justice  of  their 
sentence,  but  the  people  only  prayed  the  more  and 
the  more  loudly  denounced  the  sentence.  The 
clouds  were  gathering,  and  James,  hearing  the  dis- 
tant thunders,  gave  orders  for  the  release  of  the 
eight,  and  sent  the  six,  after  fourteen  months'  im- 
prisonment, into  exile. 

Such  a  taste  of  Episcopacy  did  not  intoxicate  the 
people  with  its  sweets.  If  such  were  its  begin- 
nings, Avhat  would  be  its  ending?  While  thus 
John  Welsh,  through  whose  zealous  preaching  of 
the  gospel  hundreds  had  been  converted,  was  incar- 
cerated in  a  prison  cell,  a  wretched  Romish  abbot 
was  set  free.  "  Not  this  man,  but  Barabbas !" 
Strangely  supposing  that  the  Kirk  was  now  hum- 
bled, James,  urged  on  by  his  bishops,  convoked  the 


THE  CONFLICT.  395 

synods  on  the  same  day  in  different  parts  of  the 
kingdom,  and  tried  to  seduce  them  into  the  adop- 
tion of  five  articles  whose  object  was  to  shiekl  the 
bishops  from  Church  censures  for  their  illegal  con- 
duct. But,  the  Synod  of  Angus  excepted,  they  all 
referred  the  matter  to  the  General  Assembly. 

The  Parliament  held  in  August,  1606,  took  another 
step  up  the  prelatic  ladder,  and  an  act  was  passed 
opening  with  a  preamble  declaring  the  king  to  be 
*' absolute  prince,  judge  and  governor  of  all  estates, 
persons  and  causes,  spiritual  and  temporal;"  de- 
claring that  the  wealth  and  lands  formerly  pos-<t 
sessed  by  abbots,  priors,  etc.,  in  virtue  of  which 
those  persons  had  acted  as  members  of  Parliament, 
should  be  alienated  from  the  Church  and  erected 
into  temporal  lordships ;  erecting  seventeen  prela- 
cies and  restoring  the  bishops  to  their  ancient  hon- 
ours. This  act  pleased  all  but  the  Church  and  its 
friends.  It  pleased  the  king,  for  it  acknowledged 
him  as  despot.  It  pleased  the  mercenary  lords,  as 
it  enriched  tliem;  and  the  bishops,  as  it  clothed 
them  with  the  glories  of  lords  over  God's  heritage. 
Against  these  proceedings  Melville  and  forty-one 
other  ministers  laid  in  a  solemn,  earnest  protest,  in 
which  they  reminded  the  Parliament  that  they  were 
not  lords  over  the  Church,  and  conjured  them  not 


396  JENNY  GKDDES. 

to  overthrow  the  religic?ii  of  the  hind  by  erecting  a 
hierarchy  which  ''  had  nniformly  proved  the  source 
of  idlenesss,  ignorance,  insuiferal)le  pride,  pitiless 
tyranny  and  shameless  ambition." 

The  Melvilles  also  drew  up  a  paper  containing 
the  reasons  for  the  protest,  in  which  they  say:  "Set 
up  these  bishops  once  (called  long  since  the  Prince's 
led  horse),  things  however  unlawful  and  pernicious, 
if  favoured  by  the  king,  shall  be  carried  through 
by  his  bishops  without  regard  to  the  other  estates. 
And  the  reason  is,  that  the  ])ishops  have  their  lord- 
.^ship  and  living  from  the  king.  Deprave  me  once 
the  ecclesiastical  estate,  which  has  the  gift  of 
knowledge  and  learning  beyond  others,  and  the  rest 
will  be  easily  miscarried.  If  any  succeeding  prince 
please  to  play  the  tyrant,  these  bishops  shall  never 
admonish  him  as  faithful  pastors,  but,  as  they  are 
made  by  man,  they  must  and  will  flatter  and  please 
man.  The  pitiful  experience  of  this  in  times  past 
makes  us  bold  to  give  warning  for  tlie  time  to 
come." 

How  well  grounded  these  anticipations  were  is 
seen  in,  among  other  things,  a  letter  of  Gladstanes', 
one  of  the  king's  archbishops,  in  which  he  writes : 
"  I  find  myself  so  overwhelmed  with  your  majesty's 
princely  benignity  that  I  could  not  but  repair  to 


THE  CONFLICT.  397 

your  majesty's  most  gracious  face,  tliat  so  uuworthy 
a  Gveature  might  both  see,  bless  and  thank  my 
ecuihly  creator  /'' 

Though  James  had  accompb'shed  much,  much  yet 
remained  to  be  done  in  the  work  of  transmuting 
Presbytery  into  Prelacy.  The  Parliament  had 
wrought  well  to  his  will,  but  as  yet  Episcopacy  stood 
condemned  by  the  Church,  and  the  king's  bishops 
enjoyed  legally  little  more  than  the  name.  Their 
rank  was,  as  in  the  Scripture,  simply  that  of  pas- 
tors, and  no  superior  spiritual  power  was  lodged  in 
their  hands ;  and  the  desired  revolution  on  this  point 
could  be  wrought  only  by  the  General  Assembly. 
But  of  this  tliere  could  be  no  sure  prospect  while 
the  veteran  leaders  of  tlie  Kirk  were  within  speak- 
ing distance  of  their  brethren.  Hence  two  prob- 
lems invited  solution  at  the  hands  of  kingcraft : 
first,  the  removal  of  these  leaders  from  the  realm, 
and,  second,  the  corruption  or  intimidation  of  the 
Assembly.  Neither  of  these  problems  was  arduous 
to  the  royal  manipulator.  Accordingly,  a  peremp- 
tory and  insidious  mandate  from  the  king  ordered 
the  Melvilles,  and  others  who  had  been  already  im- 
prisoned or  banished,  to  repair  to  him  at  London 
to  consult  with  him  upon  ecclesiastical  affairs.  The 
king's  two  archbishops,  Gladstanes  and  Spotswood, 


398  JENNY  GEDDES. 

followed  them.  On  the  20tli  of  September  they 
were  allowed  to  kiss  the  monarch's  hand,  and  the 
kino:  rallied  Balfour  on  the  leno;th  of  his  beard, 
which,  he  said,  had  grown  prodigiously  since  he 
had  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  it  in  Scotland. 

''  The  cat  doth  play  and  after  slay." 

Two  days  after,  they  met  his  majesty  again, 
when  they  were  asked  for  an  account  of  the  "  pre- 
tended Assembly  at  Aberdeen,''  and  of  the  means 
of  obtaining  a  peaceable  meeting  of  the  General 
Assembly/'  On  these  points  they  were  to  give 
answer  the  next  day.  The  next  day  they  met  in 
the  presence  of  earls  and  nobles,  with  English  pre- 
lates behind  the  tapestry.  First,  James  bade  his 
creatures  Gladstanes  and  Spotswood  give  their 
views,  which,  of  course,  were  all  his  majesty  de- 
sired. Andrew  Melville  was  then  called  upon  to 
speak,  which  he  did  for  one  hour,  and,  as  he  spoke 
the  honest  truth,  of  course  he  disagreed  with  the 
kino;.  The  others  followed  in  the  same  strain. 
The  lord  advocate  then  spoke  of  the  trial  of  the 
ministers  for  treason  in  such  terms  that  Andrew 
Melville  took  fire  and  on  his  knees  begged  to 
speak  again.  This  being  granted,  he  poured  his 
spirit  forth   in   one  of  those  bursts  of  honest,  elo- 


THE  CONFLICT.  399 

quent  indignation  and  jDower  for  which  he  was  so 
famous.  Of  the  lord  advocate  he  said  that  the 
arch-enemy  himself  could  not  have  done  more 
against  the  saints  of  God  than  he  had  done ;  and 
now,  said  he, 

*'  You  must  needs  show  yourself,  0  Karrjopo^ 
Tcov  AdeAipcovJ^ 

"What's  that  he  said?"  asked  the  king.  "I 
think  he  calls  him  antl-Chrlst.  Nay,  by  God,  it 
is  the  devil's  name  In  the  Revelation  of  the  well- 
beloved  John." 

Then  rising  hastily,  he  said,  "  God  be  with  you, 
sirs." 

Recollecting  himself,  he  turned  and  asked  the 
ministers  what  was  needed  to  pacify  the  dissensions 
of  the  Church.     With  one  voice  they  answered  : 

"A  FREE  General  Assembly." 

The  predetermined  result  was  that  Andrew 
Melville  was  shut  up  for  four  years  in  the  Tower, 
James  was  forbidden  to  return  to  Scotland  and 
the  others  to  return  to  their  parishes,  and  thus  the 
"  crafty  tyrant  cut  down  the  tallest." 

Surely  now  the  road  was  clear  for  the  panting 
steed  of  the  king  to  the  crowning  heights  of  com- 
plete despotism.  But  even  yet  much  remained  to 
be  done.      Nothing  must  be  left  to  Sootcli  piety 


400  JENNY  GEDDES. 

and  pertinacity.  The  king's  bishops  were  sent 
post-haste  to  gather  an  Assembly  at  LinlithgoWj 
but  carrying  a  mandate  with  them  naming  those 
who  should  be  commissioners.  Tlie  ministers  in 
London  asked  a  free  Assembly,  and  as  a  free  mon- 
archy was  one  in  which  the  king  was  free  to  do  as 
he  pleased,  so  a  free  Assembly  was  one  in  which 
the  king's  will  should  have  free  play.  Some  of 
the  presbyteries  refused  to  grant  commissions  to 
the  king's  nominees;  others  elected  them,  but 
charged  them  to  take  no  part  in  the  decision  of 
any  ecclesiastical  question.  The  king  ordered,  and 
against  much  opposition  the  Assembly  ordained, 
the  appointment  of  constant  moderators  in  presby- 
teries, and  that  his  bishops  should  be  moderators 
of  the  presbyteries  within  wdiose  bounds  they  re- 
sided— these  "  constant  moderators  beino^  the  little 
thieves  within  to  open  the  doors  to  the  great 
thieves  without."  The  poor  Synod  of  Angus  was 
the  only  synod  that  obeyed.  The  king  raged  and 
stormed,  and  his  bishops  did  all  the  king  bade; 
ministers  were  thrown  into  prison,  but  the  presby- 
teries would  not  appoint  the  constant  moderators. 

In  1609  a  Parliament  at  Edinburgh  empowered 
the  bishops  to  fix  the  salaries  of  ministers,  and 
made  Spotswood  a  lord  of  session,  and  thus  the 


THE  CONFLICT.  401 

prelates  climbed  the  throne,  being  now  holders  of 
the  ministers'  purses,  constant  moderators  in  spite 
of  the  Kirk,  visitors  of  presbyteries,  and  soon 
royal  high  commissioners;  for  in  1610  a  commis- 
sion was  issued  to  the  king's  two  archbishops  to 
hold  two  courts  of  high  commission,  the  instru- 
ment and  embodiment  of  sheer  tyranny.  No  fixed 
forms  of  law  or  justice  guided  their  proceedings. 
They  had  the  power  of  receiving  appeals  from  all 
ecclesiastical  courts,  of  citing  before  them  any  ac- 
cused of  immorality,  heresy,  sedition  or  any  other 
offence,  and  of  inflicting  any  punishment,  civil  or 
ecclesiastical ;  and  thus  did  the  king  put  himself 
in  possession  of  the  liberties,  goods  and  persons  of 
his  subjects.     The  "free  monarchy"  was  realized. 

One  of  the  king's  packed  Assemblies  was  held 
in  June  at  Glasgow.  In  obedience  to  the  dictation 
of  James,  the  Aberdeen  Assembly  of  1605  was  con- 
demned, the  right  of  calling  and  dismissing  As- 
semblies given  to  his  majesty,  the  bishops  were  de- 
clared moderators  of  diocesan  synods,  and  other 
acts  were  passed  completing  the  overthrow  of  the 
Kirk.  These  acts,  though  kept  secret  till  the  time 
came  to  enforce  them,  stirred  up  no  little  ferment 
in  the  realm,  and  this  gave  pretext  for  further  per- 
secution. 

26 


402  JENNY  GEDDES. 

Thus,  after  ten  years,  by  the  exercise  of  arbitrary 
power,  by  bribery,  by  dissimulation,  treachery  and 
persecution,  was  Episcopacy  establislied  in  Scotland. 

In  1617,  after  an  absence  of  fourteen  years,  the 
king  favoured  his  native  country  with  a  visit,  and 
with  instinctive  Stuart  fatuity  gave  a  preliminary 
thrust  at  the  prejudices  of  those  who  were  expected 
to  welcome  him,  by  sending  on  in  advance  some 
cartloads  of  wooden  statues  of  the  apostles,  to  be 
set  up  in  Holyrood.  On  his  arrival  he  found  that 
all  his  kingcraft  had  not  fully  replaced  the  Presby- 
terian thistle  of  Scotland  with  the  lawn  of  Prelacy. 
True,  the  deputy  town-clerk  of  Edinburgh  greeted 
him  at  the  West  Port  with  salutations,  as  the 
"  bright  star  of  our  northern  firmament,  the  orna- 
ment of  our  age ;''  but  the  ministers  met  him  with 
a  protest,  adopted  at  a  meeting  held  for  the  pur- 
pose, against  a  proposal  to  the  effect  that  the  king, 
aided  by  the  prelates  and  ministers,  should  have 
power  to  enact  ecclesiastical  laws  and  thus  abolish 
the  General  Assembly.  For  this,  David  Calder- 
wood  was  cited  before  the  High  Commission.  But 
he  declined  its  jurisdiction. 

The  king  demanded : 

"  How  dared  you  to  take  part  in  that  mutinous 
meeting  ?" 


THE  CONFLICT.  403 

^'  When  that  meeting  is  pronounced  mutinous, 
it  will  be  time  enough  to  answer  that  ques- 
tion." 

"  What  moved  you  to  protest  ?" 

"A  proposition  of  the  Lords  of  Articles  to  de- 
stroy our  General  Assembly/' 

"  But  this  is  disobedience ! 

"We  will  yield  passive  obedience  to  your  ma- 
jesty, but  not  active  obedience  to  unlawful  regu- 
lations." 

"Active  and  passive  disobedience  —  what  is 
that?" 

"  That  is,  we  will  rather  suffer  than  act." 

"  I'll  tell  thee,  man,  what  is  obedience.  When 
the  centurion  said  to  one,  Go  and  come,  and  he 
obeyed.  That  is  obedience.  I  am  informed  you 
are  refractory,  and  attend  neither  synod  nor  pres- 
bytery, nor  in  any  way  conform." 

"  I  have  been  in  confinement  these  nine  years ;  so 
my  conformity  or  non-conformity  in  that  point 
could  not  very  well  be  known." 

"  Good  faith !  Thou  art  a  very  knave !  See 
these  false  Puritans — they  are  ever  playing  with 
equivocations !" 

The  result  was,  that  Calderwood  was  banished, 
and  that  in  the  winter,  the  king  gently  remarking 


404  JEXXY  GEDDES. 

that   "should    he  be  drowned   on    the  voyage,  it 
might  save  him  from  a  worse  end." 

During  his  stay  in  Scotland  the  king  showed 
the  effect  of  his  residence  among  English  prelates 
in  a  proclamation  commanding  that  his  subjects 
should  not  be  prevented  from  "  dancing,  leaping, 
vaulting,  exercising  archery,  having  May  games, 
Whitson  ales  or  morris  dances  after  divine  service 
on  Sundays."     And  now  followed 

The  Five  Articles  of  Pnih: 
Kamely,  hieeling  at  the  communion,  the  observance 
of  holidays,  episcopal  confirmation,  private  baptism, 
and  the  private  dispensation  of  the  Lord^s  Supper, 

To  prepare  the  way  for  the  adoption  of  these, 
the  whole  force  of  kingcraft  and  bishopcraft,  of 
despotism  spiritual  and  temporal,  was  brought  to 
bear  upon  the  prospective  membership  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  a  meeting  of  which  was  ordered  at 
Perth  on  the  25th  of  August,  1618.  They  met  in 
the  Little  Kirk,  in  which  a  long  table  was  placed 
in  the  centre,  on  each  side  of  which  benches  were 
placed,  with  another  for  the  moderator  and  the 
king's  commissioner  at  the  head.  The  seats  were 
filled  with  the  nobility  and  prelates,  and  the  poor 
ministers  stood  up  behind  them !    Spotswood  took 


THE  CONFLICT.  405 

the  moderator's  seat  without  election.  The  com- 
missioDS  of  the  ministers  were  handed  in,  but  not 
examined  in  public — a  prudent  procedure,  for  many 
of  them  were  illegal.  The  moderator  ordered  that 
the  nobles,  and  others  who  were  present  without 
other  commissions  than  the  mandate  of  the  king, 
should  be  considered  as  members  of  the  body. 
The  dean  of  Winchester  read  a  letter  from  the 
king,  in  which  his  majesty  assured  them  that  he 
would  be  satisfied  with  no  "  mitigations,  delays  or 
shifts,  nor  indeed  with  anything  short  of  a  direct 
acceptation  of  the  articles  in  the  form  he  had  sent.'' 

When  these  articles  were  laid  before  the  bod}-, 
there  were  not  wanting,  even  there,  some  who  faith- 
fully stood  up  for  the  right.  At  this  the  modera- 
tor poured  forth  a  furious  tirade,  sneering  at  the 
suggestion  that  any  of  the  ministers  would  submit 
to  expulsion  from  their  charges  rather  than  submit 
to  the  will  of  the  king  in  this  matter ;  "  and  if  any 
do,''  he  said,  "  I  wish  the  king  would  make  him  a 
captain,  and  never  one  of  these  braggers  would 
come  to  the  field."  So  apt  scholars  were  the  king's 
prelates  in  the  school  of  coarse  abuse  and  overbear- 
ing tyranny. 

When  the  faithful  ministers  attempted  to  speak, 
their  voices  were  drowned  by  the  clamors  and  jeers 


406  JENNY  GEDDES. 

of  courtly  barons   and  gentry.     The  question  was 
at  length  put  in  this  form : 

"  Will  you  consent  to  these  articles,  or  will  you 
disobey  the  king?"  and  the  moderator  added  that 
the  name  of  every  man  who  voted  against  them 
should  be  sent  to  the  king !  The  articles  were 
passed — forty-five  ministers,  one  doctor  and  one  no- 
bleman voting  in  the  negative.  These  articles,  thus 
forced  upon  the  Church,  the  Court  of  High  Com- 
mission at  once  began  to  enforce  at  the  point  of  the 

bayonet. 

The  Black  Saturday. 

August  4th,  1621,  saw  these  articles  ratified  by 
Parliament.  For  three  years  now  had  the  Church 
been  *' harried"  by  the  High  Commission,  and  plied 
with  every  instrumentality  cunning  could  devise 
and  cruelty  wield,  and  now  Parliament  met  at  Ed- 
inburgh to  do  the  bidding  of  its  imperious  master 
in  riveting  the  chains  upon  its  limbs.  The  faithful 
ministers  assembled  at  Edinburgh  and  petitioned 
against  the  act.  The  petition  was  cast  into  the  fire 
and  the  petitioners  into  prison.  Others  met  in 
private  and  expressed  their  views,  and  they  were 
ordered  instantly  to  leave  the  city.  At  length  the 
day  arrived  when  the  deed  was  to  be  consummated. 
As  the  parliamentary  procession   moved  from  the 


THE  CONFLICT.  407 

palace  to  the  Tol booth  a  few  spectators  in  the 
streets  looked  on  in  silence,  while  the  inhabitants 
generally  remained  at  home  shut  up  in  their  houses. 
At  last  the  vote  was  taken  and  the  infamous  meas- 
ure passed — fifteen  loixls,  fifty-four  commissioners 
of  shires  and  burghs  voting  in  the  negative.  The 
morning  had  been  cloudy,  and  as  the  day  advanced 
the  gloom  deepened  and  clouds  gathered  in  dense 
masvses  over  the  city.  The  king's  commissioner 
rose  from  his  throne,  and,  in  the  usual  method, 
stretched  out  the  sceptre  to  touch  the  acts  and  thus 
seal  their  ratification.  Just  then  a  keen  flash  of 
forked  lightning  darted  through  the  gloom,  fol- 
lowed by  a  second  and  a  third,  and  three  terrific 
peals  of  thunder  made  the  old  building  shake  and 
the  guilty  legislators  tremble !  Rain  followed  in 
deluging  sheets,  and  hailstones  of  enormous  size 
rattled  upon  the  roof  and  against  the  walls,  im- 
prisoning for  an  hour  and  a  half  the  wretched  con- 
clave in  its  hall  of  sin.  The  prelates  likened  it  to 
the  thundering  of  Sinai  at  the  giving  of  the  law, 
but  the  people  remembered  the  day  for  a  long  time 
as  The  Black  Saturday. 

Had  James  been  there,  he  would  have  ordered  a 
series  of  counter-incantations  to  exorcise  the  city  of 
Presbyterian  witches,  but  his  majesty's  head  that 


408  JENNY   GEDDES. 

day  was  pillowed  on  the  soft  bosom  of  English 
Prelacy. 

THE  DEA  TU  OF  JAMES. 

The  kiuo^  survived  this  consummation  of  his 
crime  against  the  Kirk — which  he  had  eulogized  as 
the  sincerest  Kirk  of  all  the  world,  and  over  and 
over  again  pledged  his  word  to  God  and  man  to 
defend — a  little  less  than  four  years,  a  period  of  un- 
relenting tyranny.  The  people  had  long  been 
growing  restive  under  the  despotism  of  the  High 
Commission,  as  depending  solely  upon  the  will  of 
the  king,  but  now  James  elegantly  wrote  to  Spots- 
wood  : 

"  The  greatest  matter  the  Puritans  had  to  object 
against  the  Church  government  was  that  your  pro- 
ceedings were  warranted  by  no  law,  which  now  by 
this  last  Parliament  is  cutted  short,  so  that  here- 
after that  rebellious,  disobedient  and  seditious  crew 
must  either  obey  or  resist  God,  their  natural  king 
and  the  law  of  the  country.  Lose  no  time  to  pro- 
cure a  settled  obedience  to  God  and  to  us.  The 
sword  is  put  into  your  hands ;  use  it,  and  let  it 
rust  no  longer.^^  But  Spotswood  needed  no  such 
injunction  to  keep  the  sword  from  rusting.  He 
loved  to  make  and  see  it  bright. 

A  similar  epistle  was  sent  to  the  privy  council, 


THE  CONFLICT.  409 

enjoining  all  officers  of  the  state,  on  pain  of  dismis- 
sion, to  aid  in  turning  the  grindstone  while  the 
archbishop  sharpened  and  furbished  his  sword. 
Very  many  of  the  burgesses,  however,  refused  to 
act,  and  their  places  were  filled  with  those  who 
were  more  pliant. 

While  this  storm  of  persecution  was  beating 
down  upon  the  Church,  incessant  rains  kept  the 
grain  from  growing,  and  succeeding  winter  floods 
swept  away  farm-houses,  bridges,  cattle  and  men. 
Perth  was  surrounded  with  water.  Famine  fol- 
lowed and  reduced  many  of  the  opulent  to  beggary. 
John  Welsh,  now  fourteen  years  in  exile,  his  health 
fast  failing,  his  wife  begged  of  James  permission 
to  breathe  once  more  his  native  air.     James  asked : 

'^  Whose  daughter  are  you  ?'^ 

"  The  daughter  of  John  Knox  !" 

"  Knox  and  Welsh  !  The  devil  never  made  a 
match  like  that !'' 

^'  It's  right  like,  sir;  we  never  asked  his  advice.'^ 

"  What  children  did  your  father  leave?'' 

"  Three,  and  they  were  all  lasses." 

'^  God  be  thanked  !  Had  they  been  lads,  I  had 
never  possessed  my  kingdom  in  peace." 

"  But  give  him,  sir,  his  native  air !" 

<^  Give  him  the  devil !" 


410  JENNY  QEDDES. 

"  Give  that,  sir,  to  your  hungry  courtiers  !'' 

*' Well,  he  may  return  if  he  will  submit  to  the 
bishops." 

Lifting  up  her  apron,  she  said,  ^^  I  would  rather 
keep  his  head  here !'' 

So  poor  Welsh  died  in  exile. 

In  the  mean  time  the  bishops  hunted  up  every 
minister  their  keen  scent  could  discover,  and  sought 
to  constrain  his  subscription  to  the  Perth  articles, 
aiming  thus  to  bend  the  adverse  will  of  the  people 
by  the  example  of  the  venerated  pastors;  and,  judg- 
ing others  by  themselves,  they  doubted  not  tliat 
their  opponents  would  quail  before  the  newly-fur- 
bished sword.  Met  in  High  Commission,  they 
summoned  five  godly  notables  before  their  bar. 
To  the  summons  George  Johnson,  of  Ancrum,  sent 
this  reply : 

'^  If  my  age  of  seventy-three  years,  and  my  in- 
firmities, a  swelling  in  both  my  legs,  a  constant 
fever  after  travelling  in  the  open  air,  with  other 
miseries  attendant  on  old  age,  may  not  hold  me 
excused  from  coming  to  Edinburgh,  I  take  me  to 
God's  mercy."  This  old  man  the  kind  bishops 
deprived  and  banished  to  Annandale.  David 
Dickson,  of  Irvine,  eminent  for  parts  and  piety, 
protected  by  an  earl  and  pleaded  for  by  his  people, 


THE  CONFLICT.  411 

was  banished  to  Turriff,  and  all  the  rest  were 
made  to  feel  the  keen  edge  of  the  prelatic  sword. 
Finding  the  pastors  too  bold  and  true  to  bow,  they 
tried  their  power  upon  the  people,  insisting  espe- 
cially on  the  kneeling  at  the  communion,  as  the 
most  visible  acknowledgment  of  the  authority  of 
royal  and  prelatic  tyranny;  and  many  a  scene  of 
confusion  and  disgrace  occurred  in  the  house  of 
God,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  bread  and  wine, 
as  the  persecutors  enforced  and  the  people  resisted 
what  they  regarded  as  a  popish  ceremony.  A  few 
yielded  to  gratify  the  dignitaries,  but  the  greater 
part  either  abstained  from  the  communion-table,  or 
resorted  to  altars  where  they  could  particijiate  with 
New  Testament  simplicity. 

But  true  Presbyterianism  is  not  wont  either  to 
submit  to  ecclesiastical  or  secular  tyranny,  or  long 
to  smother  its  indignant  protests.  The  dullest 
apprehensions  could  not  choose  but  see  that  the 
assumed  power  of  the  prelates  meant  the  death  of 
all  freedom.  The  nobility  found  that  their  consti- 
tutional rights  were  dreams  in  the  eyes  of  those 
who  now  lorded  it  over  God's  heritage,  and  the 
muttering  of  coming  thunder  was  heard  among 
the  cloudy  masses  of  the  people,  and  the  sea  began 
to  swell  under  the  force  of  a  gathering  storm.    Nor 


412  JENNY  GEDDES. 

was  any  oil  poured  on  the  troubled  waters  by  the 
king's  proposal  to  marry  the  prince  to  a  Spanish 
Romanist,  nor  by  the  royal  favour  to  Papists  to 
smooth  the  way  for  this  abominable  alliance. 

Further  force  was  added  to  the  national  discon- 
tent by  the  conduct  of  the  king  and  his  prelatic 
minions  in  the  case  of  William  Forbes,  who,  having 
been  recently  placed  over  one  of  the  churches  of 
Edinburgh  on  account  of  his  anti-Presbyterian 
principles,  was  accused  of  uttering  sentiments  in 
favour  of  the  papacy.  The  bishops,  of  course, 
sided  with  Forbes,  who  was  proudly  indignant 
that  the  people  should  venture  to  question  his 
official  acts  or  utterances.  At  the  solicitation  of 
the  bishops  a  thundering  mandate  from  the  king 
bade  a  select  number  of  the  privy  council  to  put 
the  murmuring  citizens  on  trial  for  their  audacity, 
and  one  magistrate  was  imprisoned  in  the  Castle 
of  Blackness  till  he  could  pay  a  ruinous  fine ;  and 
five  other  eminent  citizens  were  imprisoned  or 
banished  to  remote  parts  of  the  country. 

The  prelates,  finding  that  they  were  only  sowing 
dragons'  teeth,  begged  now  of  the  king  relief  from 
the  "  conventicles"  to  which  the  faithful  ministers 
of  the  surrounding  country  resorted  for  purposes 
of  prayer  and  consultation ;  and  in  answer  to  their 


THE  CONFLICT.  413 

petitions  there  came  a  royal  proclamation  repre- 
hending in  severe  terms  those  citizens  who  listened 
to  the  "  turbulent  persuasions  of  restless  minis- 
ters/^ and  strictly  prohibiting  all  private  conven- 
ticles. Soon  after,  a  letter  of  censure  came  from 
the  royal  hand,  threatening  the  town  of  Edinburgh 
with  the  removal  of  the  courts  of  session  and 
justiciary,  if  the  magistrates  did  not  give  better 
obedience  to  the  articles  of  Perth  themselves  and 
better  enforce  their  observance  upon  others. 

But  the  cup  of  James  was  now  full.  If  the 
saints  die,  the  grave  will  not  yield  its  claim  on 
sinners ; 

''Death  lays  his  icy  hand  on  kings; 
Sceptre  and  crown  must  tumble  down, 
And,  in  the  dust,  be  equal  made 
With  the  poor  crooked  scythe  and  spade." 

The  27th  day  of  March,  1625,  found  King  Death 
darkening  with  his  huge  shadow  the  palace-door 
of  King  James,  nearly  fifty-nine  years  after  his 
birth  in  Edinburgh  Castle,  while  his  mother  was 
meditating  the  murder  of  his  father  in  love  for  her 
seducer  and  in  revenge  for  the  death  of  Rizzio. 
His  reign,  in  a  political  point  of  view,  had  been 
one  succession  of  humiliations  to  his  people.  In 
Scotland  all  was  turbulence  and  strife,  and  "  on  the 


414  JENNY   GEDDES. 

day  of  his  accession  to  the  English  throne/'  writes 
Macaulay,  "  our  country  descended  from  the  rank 
she  had  hitherto  held,  and  began  to  be  regarded  as 
a  power  hardly  of  the  second  order.  From  the 
time  of  his  accession  he  shunned  hostilities  with  a 
caution  that  was  proof  against  the  insults  of  his 
neighbours  and  the  clamours  of  his  subjects.  Not 
till  the  last  year  of  his  reign  could  the  influence  of 
his  son,  his  favourite,  his  Parliament  and  his 
people  combined  induce  him  to  strike  one  feeble 
blow  in  defence  of  his   family  and  religion." 

The  portraits  left  of  his  person  are  not  flattering. 
"He  was  of  middling  stature,  more  corpulent 
through  his  clothes  than  in  his  body,  though 
fat  enough ;  his  clothes  ever  being  made  too 
large,  and  his  doublets  quilted  for  stiletto-  proof; 
his  breeches  in  great  plaits  and  full  stuffed.  His 
eyes  were  large,  ever  rolling  after  any  stranger 
who  came  into  his  presence" — fearing  he  might 
prove  a  king-killer — "insomuch  as  many  for 
shame  have  left  the  room.  His  tongue  was  too 
large  for  his  mouth,  which  ever  made  him  speak 
full  in  the  mouth  and  made  him  drink  very 
uncomely.  He  never  washed  his  hands — only 
rubbed  his  finger  ends  Avith  the  wet  end  of  a 
napkin  slightly.     His  legs  were  very  weak,  mak- 


THE  CONFLICT.  415 

iiig  him  ever  lean  on  other  men's  shoulders.     His 
walk  was  ever  circular.'' 

But  physical  defects  are  soon  forgotten  if  mind 
and  character  challenge  admiration.  Unhappily, 
James'  body  was  the  best  part  of  him.  His  dis- 
regard for  truth  was  unblushing.  He  was  osten- 
tatious in  his  profanity  and  lascivious  conversation 
and  conduct,  driving,  by  his  own  example,  all  de- 
cency from  his  court.  In  spirit  he  was  crafty, 
mean,  selfish  and  vindictive.  Indeed,  few  kings 
have  lived  whose  characters  would  not  gain  by 
comparison  with  his.  Such  was  the  idol  of  Eng- 
lish Prelacy — the  one  whom  the  fawning  Glad- 
stanes  called  his  earthly  creator — to  whom  Ban- 
croft, bishop  of  London,  said  "  that  he  was  such  a 
king  as  since  Christ's  time  hath  not  been."  At 
last,  however,  the  time  came  for  his  removal.  An 
intermittent  fever  seized  him,  and  as  he  sank  the 
wretches  who  had  flattered  him  so  profusely  while 
fawning  sycophancy  was  sure  of  its  reward,  miser- 
ably deserted  him;  and  it  is  said  that  even  medical 
attention  was  lacking,  and  that  some  "  empirical 
prescriptions,  which  in  his  impatience  he  caused  to 
be  administered,"  hastened  the  end  he  was  so  anx- 
ious to  defer.  ^*  Thus,"  in  the  language  of  Hether- 
ington,  "he  departed,  leaving  a  kingdom  sunk  from 


416  JENNY  GEDDES. 

glory  to  disgrace;  filled  with  the  elements  of  private 
strife  and  social  discord  ;  a  son  the  heritor  of  his 
despotic  principles  and  of  all  the  evils  they  had 
engendered,  and  a  name  lauded  by  a  few  prelatic 
flatterers  who  could  term  him  their  ^  earthly  cre- 
ator/ the  '  Solomon  of  the  age/  but  scorned  by  the 
haughty,  mocked  by  the  witty,  despised  by  men  of 
learning  and  genius,  and  not  hated  only  because 
pitied  and  deplored  by  the  persecuted  yet  loyal 
Church  of  Scotland."  Nor  can  charity  concede  to 
his  memory  even  the  poor  privilege  of  oblivion. 

en abt.es  I. 

"  The  king  is  dead — long  live  the  king !"  On 
the  arrival  in  Scotland  of  the  news  of  the  death  of 
James  a  general  mourning  was  ordered,  the  chapel 
and  palace  of  Holyrood  were  hung  with  black,  the 
new  king  proclaimed  w^ith  the  usual  ceremonies, 
and  the  chief  ministers  of  state  set  off  for  London, 
less  to  assist  in  burying  the  old  monarch  than  in 
crowning  and  soliciting  favours  from  the  new  one. 

Charles  I.  was  a  man  of  medium  size,  his  aspect 
grave  and  pale,  with  a  painful  weakness  of  eyes. 
In  intellect  he  w'as  far  superior  to  his  father,  and 
he  displayed  considerable  taste  for  literature  and 
the  arts;  and  his  domestic  life  was  without  a  stain. 


THE  CONFLICT.  417 

Bat,  affecting  the  gravity  of  the  court  of  Spain  in 
his  behaviour,  he  not  only  despised  the  civilities 
and  affabilities  which  endear  a  prince  to  his  people, 
but  sullen,  if  not  morose,  in  his  temper,  his  man- 
ner in  bestowing  a  favour  was  so  ungracious  that 
^'  it  was  almost  as  mortifying  as  the  favour  was 
obliging."  Inheriting  his  father's  despotic  temper, 
he  was  fond  of  high,  rough  measures,  though  lack- 
ing '^  the  skill  to  conduct  them  and  the  genius  to 
manage  them."  He  hated  all  that  offered  counsels 
of  prudence  and  moderation,  even  when  necessity 
compelled  him  to  listen  to  such  counsels.  Thus  he 
was  extremely  wilful  and  looked  upon  all  contra- 
diction as  rebellion.  "  Faithlessness  was  the  chief 
cause  of  his  disasters  and  is  the  chief  stain  on  his 
memory.  He  was  in  truth  impelled  by  an  in- 
curable propensity  to  dark  and  crooked  ways.  It. 
may  seem  strange  that  his  conscience,  which,  on 
occasions  of  little  moment,  was  sufficiently  sensi- 
tive, should  never  have  reproached  him  with  this 
orreat  vice.  Bat  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  he 
was  perfidious  not  only  from  constitution  and  habit, 
but  also  on  principle.  He  seems  to  have  learned 
from  the  theologians,"  his  prelatic  counsellors, 
^'  whom  he  most  esteemed,  that  between  him  and 
his  subjects  there  could  be  nothing  of  the  nature 

27 


418  JENNY  GEDDES. 

of  a  mutual  contract ;  that  he  could  not,  even  if 
he  would,  divest  himself  of  his  despotic  authority, 
and  that  in  every  promise  he  made  there  was  an 
implied  reservation  that  such  promise  might  be 
broken  in  case  of  necessity,  and  that  of  the  neces- 
sity he  was  the  sole  judge." 

Such  was  the  character  of  the  monarch  with 
whom  high-spirited  Presbyterianism  was  now  to 
deal,  and  who  had  inherited  from  his  father  a 
realm  that  now  rested  on  a  volcano. 

For  a  time,  the  death  of  their  beloved  master,  in 
whose  favour  they  found  their  life,  paralyzed  the 
energies  of  the  prelates  and  afforded  a  brief  breath- 
ing-time to  the  persecuted  Church.  The  banished 
ministers  came  back  to  their  homes,  full  of  zeal  and 
love  and  cordially  welcomed  by  the  people.  When 
James  breathed  his  last,  the  Court  of  High  Com- 
mission, which  his  will  had  created,  also  died,  and 
the  relief  the  godly  thus  experienced  only  increased 
their  detestation  of  despotism  and  its  ministers. 

But  relief  soon  returned  to  the  bishops  and  ap- 
prehension to  the  Church.  Charles  had  sought  a 
wife  in  Eomish  Spain,  and  had  found  one — lovely, 
accomplished  and  strong-willed — in  papal  France. 
Nor  was  it  long  before  a  breathless  courier  rushed 
in  at  the  gates  of  Edinburgh,  bringing  mandates 


THE  COSFLICT.  419 

from  Charles  that  made  the  heart  of  Archbishop 
Spotswood  leap  for  joy :  ^'  Go  right  oa  in  the  old 
path,  and  carry  into  execution  all  the  ecclesiastical 
laws  of  the  old  reign  !"  At  this  the  prelatic  bells 
pealed  out  their  exulting  clang,  and  those  of  right 
and  religion  tolled  an  appalling  knell.  Then  came 
a  royal  proclamation  commanding  conformity  to 
the  Articles  of  Perth  and  menacing  the  disobedient 
with  rigorous  penalties ;  and  then  a  royal  mandate 
to  the  town  council  of  Edinburgh,  commanding 
them  to  allow  as  magistrates  none  but  the  sub- 
servient. 

During  the  preceding  reign,  liberty,  civil  and 
ecclesiastical,  found  some  small  security  in  the 
mental  weakness  and  cowardly  timidity  of  the 
king.  He  was  a  great  blusterer,  but  his  spirit  not 
unfrequently  evaporated  in  the  blustering.  But 
Charles,  stronger  of  mind  and  the  incarnation  of 
obstinacy,  acted  instead  of  blustering,  and  that  with 
a  quiet  tenacity  of  purpose  that  only  yielded  to  the 
axe  that  took  ofP  his  head.  He  early  resolved  that 
the  sham  Prelacy  of  Scotland  should  emerge  into 
the  solid  and  real  Prelacy  of  England,  and  to  do 
this  he  saw  that  the  bishops,  with  their  titles, 
must  have  the  handling  of  the  tithes.  The  apos- 
tles were  not  overburdened  with  incomes,  but  their 


420  JENNY  GEDDES. 

successors  in  a  prelatical  establish aient  had  almost 
as  well  be  without  mitres  as  without  money.  In 
the  first  year  of  his  reign,  therefore,  he  startled 
both  the  Church  and  the  nobility  by  a  proclama- 
tion revoking  "all  the  acts  of  his  father  in  preju- 
dice of  the  crown  ;''  the  nobles,  as  they  read  therein 
a  significant  hint  that  many  lands  in  their  posses- 
sion were  likely  to  slide  from  under  their  grasp, 
and  the  Church  as  seeing  the  hammer  lifted  that 
was  to  rivet  the  fetters  of  Prelacy  upon  the  free 
limbs  of  the  nation. 

After  this  startling  intimation  had  had  time  to 
work,  he  proceeded  to  measures  calculated,  in  his 
view,  to  curb  the  intractable,  turbulent  temper  of 
the  Scotch  nobility.  He  remodelled  the  courts, 
the  privy  council  and  the  constitution  of  the  ex- 
chequer, introducing  certain  of  his  pliant  prelates 
into  the  two  latter;  created  a  commission  of 
grievances  or  Scottish  Star-Chamber,  and  raised 
from  the  dead  the  Court  of  Hio^h  Commission. 
Thus  the  machinery  was  erected,  put  in  order  and 
committed  to  willing,  relentless  hands,  which  was 
to  torture  Scotland,  Church  and  State,  into  con- 
formity with  the  ideal  in  the  royal  mind.  A  gleam 
also  of  the  old  kingcraft  appeared  in  the  order, 
allowing  all  the  ministers  admitted  before  the  As- 


THE  CONFLICT.  421 

sembly  of  1618  to  withhold  consent  to  the  Perth 
Articles,  on  condition  that  they  would  refrain  from 
publicly  assailing  the  king's  authority  and  his  form 
of  church  government.  What  might  have  been  the 
eflFect  of  this  bribe  in  undermining  opposition,  the 
zeal  of  the  younger  prelates,  whose  palates  were 
whetted  for  the  spoils,  prevents  us  from  knowing. 
It  was  found  impossible  to  restrain  hounds  keen 
of  scent  and  game  in  view. 

These  younger  prelates,  seeing  that  advancement 
quickly  followed  the  display  of  zeal,  caught  the 
ritualistic  fever,  and  soon  nothing  was  heard  among 
them  but  plans  for  the  introduction  of  prelatio 
novelties.  Success  turned  their  heads  and  filled 
their  hearts  with  pride.  Many  of  them,  destitute 
alike  of  piety  and  learning,  put  on  offensive  airs, 
disdaining  association  with  their  flocks,  and  aping 
the  manners  of,  and  courting  association  with,  the 
court  class,  and  thus  deepening  the  general  disgust. 

In  1628  a  deputation  was  sent  to  the  king  by 
the  Synod  of  Edinburgh,  begging  relief  from  com- 
pulsory submission  to  the  Articles  of  Perth,  and 
especially  from  the  necessity  of  kneeling  at  the  sa- 
crament, to  which  the  mass  of  Presbyterian  knees 
would  not  bend.  As  might  have  been  expected, 
however,  his  majesty  regarded  the  petition  as  little 


422  JEN^Y  GEDDES. 

short  of  downright  rebellion,  and  ordered  condign 
punishment  upon  the  petitioners.  The  result  was 
that  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  was  not 
administered  in  Edinburgh  that  year. 

Things  being  now  ripe,  in  the  judgment  of 
Charles,  to  set  his  machine  in  action,  he  sent  the 
earl  of  Nithesdale  to  hold  a  convention  of  the 
estates  and  gain  their  consent  to  the  resumption  by 
the  Crown  of  all  the  tithes  and  Church  property 
which  came  to  it  at  the  Reformation,  or  which  had 
been  shared  among  the  leading  nobles  during  the 
last  two  reigns.  Thus  the  king  would  acquire  the 
metal  needed  to  gild  his  bishops  up  to  the  point  of 
orthodox,  prelatic  splendour,  and  root  the  order  in 
the  constitution  of  the  government.  But  this  was 
a  tender  point.  Many  of  those  nobles  could  say  in 
all  sincerity,  "  He  who  takes  my  religion  takes 
trash,  hut  he  who  takes  my  purse  had  as  well  also 
take  my  life.''  AVith  some  of  them,  however, 
higher  motives  prevailed.  Presbyterianism  had 
taught  them  freedom,  and  this  measure  was  another 
step  toward  absolutism;  and  they  resolved  to  resist 
even  unto  death.  The  convention  met,  filled  with 
scowling  lords.  Nithesdale  proposed  his  measure, 
pledging  all  who  would  consent  with  the  special 
favouF-of  his  majesty,  and  threatening  the  refrac- 


THE  CONFLICT.  423 

tory  with  the  most  vigorous  measures.  But  at  a 
private  meeting  of  the  enraged  nobles  it  had  been 
agreed  that  should  the  earl  press  this  measure,  he 
and  his  adherents  should  be  slain  on  the  spot. 
Lord  Belhaven,  blind  by  age,  asked  to  be  placed 
by  the  side  of  one  of  Xithesdale's  men,  and,  being 
set  beside  the  earl  of  Dumfries,  he  held  him  fast  by 
one  hand  as  if  needing  support  in  his  weakness, 
while  with  the  other  he  clutched  a  dagger  concealed 
in  his  bosom,  resolved,  when  the  signal  should  be 
given,  to  bury  the  dagger  in  the  heart  of  his  victim. 
Nithesdale,  however,  quailed  under  the  frowns  of 
the  barons,  and  gave  up  the  attempt.  But  with  a 
wisdom  peculiar  to  the  Stuart  race,  the  act,  upon 
consent  to  which  the  king's  agent  dared  not  insist, 
was  published  in  spite  of  their  dissent,  and  thus 
became  an  additional  wedge  between  the  crown  and 
the  realm,  and  an  additional  bond  among  the 
people. 

The  experience  of  Spots  wood  compelled  him  to 
see  what  the  king  was  too  wilful  and  haughty  to 
acknowledge — that  the  Scottish  spirit  might  be 
goaded  farther  than  would  be  safe  for  him  who 
used  the  goad,  and  the  visible  scowls  and  audible 
murmurs  of  discontent  constrained  him  within  cer- 
tain bounds  of  moderation.     But  the  more  sanguine 


424  JENNY  GEDDES. 

prelates,  blinded  by  covetousness  and  zeal,  whis- 
pered— through  Laud,  who  was  now  the  king's  con- 
science ecclesiastical — into  the  monarch's  ear  coun- 
sels that  better  suited  his  imperious  temper,  and 
thus  Spots  wood  began  to  feel  the  shadows  of  a  royal 
cloud.  John  Maxwell,  minister  in  Edinburgh,  able 
and  unscrupulous,  led  the  advanced  wing  and  se- 
cured the  confidence  of  Laud,  and  the  violent 
measures  of  this  party  greatly  deepened  the  grow- 
ing discontent.  In  1636,  this  Maxwell,  after  con- 
sultation with  Laud  and  Charles,  brought  with  him 
to  Edinburgh  a  royal  letter  to  Spots  wood,  direct- 
ing him  to  convene  the  prelates  and  those  ministers 
most  under  their  power,  and  inform  them  that  the 
time  was  drawing  near  w^hen  Scotland  must  put  on 
the  prelatic  yoke  of  England  and  remodel  the  whole 
Church  order  after  the  English  pattern.  This 
bearding  the  lion  in  his  den,  however,  was  a  task 
the  prelates  dare  not  yet  undertake,  and  the  matter 
was  postponed.  In  July  of  this  year,  at  a  conven- 
tion of  the  estates,  the  faithful  ministers  presented 
a  paper  of  grievances  of  which  they  asked  redress, 
which,  although  supported  by  several  of  the  nobil- 
ity, was  contemptuously  left  unread.  In  the  mean 
time,  efforts  sufficiently  futile  were  made  to  intro- 
duce organs,  choristers,  surplices  and  other  such 


THE  CONFLICT.  425 

novelties.  And  as  death  vacated  one  and  another 
of  the  ecclesiastical  offices,  new  and  more  zealous 
incumbents  took  the  places  of  the  departed.  I^aw 
was  transferred  from  the  see  of  Ross  to  the  arch- 
bishopric of  Glasgow,  and  Maxwell  made  bishop 
of  Ross,  and  then  a  lord  of  session,  and  then  a  lord 
of  exchequer,  and  then  a  member  of  privy  council ; 
and  who  could  now  doubt  that  he  was  a  true  suc- 
cessor of  the  apostles  ? 

While  the  king  and  his  prelates  were  thus  get- 
ting their  machine  in  working  order  preparatory  to 
the  final  act  of  exterminating  Presbyterianism  and 
saddling  the  nation  with  English  Prelacy,  God,  by 
his  providence  and  Spirit,  was  rooting  the  former 
more  and  more  deeply  in  the  minds  and  affections 
of  the  people,  and  making  the  latter  more  and  more 
odious.  Under  persecution  true  piety  has  ever 
shown  a  tendency  to  deepen  and  brighten,  and 
rarely  have  God's  ministers  shown  a  zeal  so  un- 
quenchable and  a  fervour  more  seraphic  than  when 
hunted  like  the  partridge  upon  the  mountains. 
Among  the  noblest  of  Christian  spirits  of  those 
days  was  Robert  Bruce.  Driven  from  point  to 
point  by  Royalty  and  Prelacy,  he  had  kindled  new 
fires  of  devotion  among  the  people,  and  many  a 
young  preacher  had  been  imbued  with  a  heavenly 


426  JEXNY  GEDDES. 

heroism  by  the  fervent  breathings  of  his  soul.  An- 
otlier,  of  kindred  spirit,  was  David  Dickson,  pastor 
in  the  town  of  Irvine,  who,  allowed  to  return  from 
exile  to  the  bosom  of  his  half-idolizing  flock,  pro- 
claimed with  such  unction  and  power  the  unsearch- 
able riches  of  Christ  that  a  mighty  revival  sealed 
and  crowned  his  labours.  "  Persons  under  deep 
exercise  and  soul-concern  came  from  all  the  parishes 
round  about  Irvine  to  enjoy  the  benefit  of  his  min- 
istry." He  began  a  series  of  services  on  Mondays, 
market-days  in  Irvine,  so  timing  them  that  the 
crowds  who  came  to  town  on  that  day  could  attend 
upon  them  before  market-hour.  To  these  services 
others  also  came  from  distant  parts  of  the  country, 
and  not  a  few  removed  their  families  to  Irvine  and 
settled  there  to  enjoy  the  ministrations  of  this  able 
and  favoured  pastor.  This  looked  little  like  an 
acceptance  of  Prelacy.  After  his  sermon  on  Sab- 
bath evenings  crowds  waited  to  converse  with  him 
about  their  souls.  The  work  of  grace  spread  into 
the  adjoining  parish  of  Stewarton,  and  thence  from 
spot  to  spot  along  the  valley  through  which  the 
Stewarton  water  runs;  and  under  its  power  ^'  many 
most  abandoned  characters,  mockers  of  everything 
bearing  the  semblance  of  religion,  were  completely 
changed."     This  remarkable  work  of  grace  began 


THE  COXFLICT.  427 

the  very  year  Charles  put  on  his  crown,  and  lasted 
for  about  five  years.  Profane  ribaldry  called  it 
"  the  Stewai-ton  sicknessj^  Scarce  a  Sabbath  passed 
without  evident  conversions  or  some  convincino^ 
proof  of  the  mighty  power  of  the  Word.  "  And 
truly  this  great  spring-tide,  as  I  may  call  it, 
of  the  gospel,  was  not  of  a  short  time,  but  of 
some  years' continuance ;  yea,  thus  like  a  spread- 
ing moonbeam,  the  power  of  godliness  did  advance 
from  one  place  to  another,  which  put  a  marvellous 
lustre  on  those  parts  of  the  country,  the  savour 
whereof  brought  many  from  other  parts  of  the  land 
to  see  the  truth.'' 

"  In  the  upper  ward  of  Lanarkshire,"  in  the 
parish  of  Schotts,  two  hundred  and  thirty  years 
ago,  there  stood  a  Presbyterian  manse,  occupied  by 
Mr.  Hance,  the  pastor.  One  day,  about  the  year 
1630,  the  year  in  -which  King  Charles  made  his 
first  motion  toward  the  actual  imposition  of  the 
English  liturgy  upon  Scotland,  a  carriage,  contain- 
ing certain  ladies  of  rank,  driving  past  this  manse, 
broke  down,  and  the  pastor,  coming  to  the  aid  of 
the  disabled  travellers,  took  them  into  his  house 
and  attended  to  the  repairing  of  their  carriage. 
"While  there  the  ladies  remarked  the  comfortless 
condition  of  the  manse,  and  soon  after  had  a  new 


428  JENNY  GEDDES. 

manse  built  for  the  minister  on  a  more  eligible  site. 
The  grateful  pastor  then  waited  on  the  ladies,  ex- 
pressed his  grateful  sense  of  their  kindness,  and 
asked, 

*'  Is  there  any  way  in  my  power  by  which  1  can 
do  you  service?" 

"  Yes,"  was  the  reply  ;  ^'  send  out  invitations  to 
an  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  at  your 
church,  and  request  such  and  such  ministers  to 
assist  on  the  occasion,  and  we  shall  be  amply  re- 
paid." 

He  gladly  consented,  and  the  ministers  came, 
the  venerable  and  persecuted  Robert  Bruce  among 
them  ;  and  the  people  came  from  far  and  near,  an 
immense  number  of  the  choicest  Christians  in  the 
land,  with  crowds  of  curious  spectators.  Richly- 
blessed  preparatory  services  were  followed  on  the 
Sabbath,  June  20,  1630,  by  a  precious  commu- 
nion season — so  precious  that  at  its  close  the  people 
could  not  separate  and  resolved  upon  services  the 
following  day.  But  who  should  preach  ?  Why 
not  Bruce  ?  Why  not  some  other  notably  scarred 
veteran  confessor?  In  the  vast  assembly  was  a 
young  minister  not  yet  ordained,  only  licensed  by 
the  Presbytery,  and  on  him,  in  the  providence  of 
God,  the  lot  fell.     He  received  the  intimation  with 


THE  CONFLICT.  429 

coDsternation.  How  could  he  preach  to  all  that 
mass  of  piety,  ability  and  learning.  He  thought 
over  it  during  the  night,  and  in  the  morning  re- 
solved on  flight.  He  stole  away  into  the  woods, 
and  was  now  where,  on  turning  his  head,  he  could 
just  see  the  church  in  whose  yard  the  crowds  were 
assemblino^  to  hear  him.  Just  then  a  voice  darted 
into  the  ears  of  his  soul :  "  Was  I  ever  a  barren 
wilderness  or  a  land  of  darkness  ?"  It  was  the 
voice  of  God.  Cost  what  it  might,  to  that  voice 
he  must  give  heed.  Taking  his  stand  before  the 
crowd,  he  preached  one  hour  and  a  half  upon  the 
text  in  Ezek.  xxxvi.  25,  26,  ^'  Then  will  I  sprinkle 
clear  water  upon  you,"  etc.  As  he  w^as  about  to 
close,  God  from  the  clouds  sprinkled  the  congrega- 
tion with  a  dash  of  rain,  and  the  people  began  to 
flutter.  Glancing  at  the  agitated  crowd,  he  ex- 
claimed : 

"What!  a  few  drops  of  rain  discompose  you! 
What  if  they  were,  as  we  all  deserve,  drops  of  fire 
and  brimstone?'^  and  for  another  hour  he  poured 
forth  his  soul  in  fervid  torrents  of  exhortation  and 
warning,  and  the  result  was  the  conversion  of  about 
five  hundred  souls.  Sunday  night  had  been  spent 
in  prayer,  and  here  was  the  answer;  and  this  work 
of  grace  overflowed   through  all  the  surrounding 


430  JENNY  GEDDES. 

country.  One  said,  "  Was  it  not  a  great  sermon 
we  heard  ?'^  another  said,  "  I  never  heard  tlie  like 
of  it !"  This  was  not  the  way  to  prepare  the  peo- 
ple for  Prelacy. 

Livingston,  whose  services  were  so  blessed  upon 
this  occasion,  was,  of  course,  an  especial  mark  for 
the  shafts  of  prelatic  enmity.  Called  by  the  people 
of  Torpichen  to  be  their  pastor,  he  was  hunted 
thence  by  Spotswood,  because  he  would  not  sub- 
scribe the  Articles  of  Perth.  But,  as  in  earlier 
days,  when  these  holy  men  were  scattered  abroad 
by  persecution,  they  went  everywhere  preaching 
the  Word,  and  so  the  holy  fii'e  was  spread  by  the 
very  efforts  made  to  extinguish  it.  Livingston  and 
Blair,  and  Rutherford  and  Douglass,  and  Gillespie 
and  Dunbar,  and  Hogg  and  Dickson,  and  many 
other  like  holy  clouds,  driven  to  and  fro  by  the 
winds  of  persecution,  dropped  gracious  showers  on 
many  a  thirsty  field,  and  the  wilderness  was  made 
glad  for  them  and  the  desert  blossomed  as  the  rose. 

Thus  it  is  that  when  the  enemy  comes  in  like  a 
flood  the  Lord  lifts  up  his  standard  against  them. 
Charles  and  his  minions  were  adjusting  the  laws, 
creating  and  filling  offices  and  girding  their  loins 
for  victory,  but  God,  through  his  ministers,  was  at 
the  same  time  deepening  the  faith  of  the  people, 


THE  CONFLICT.  431 

feeding  tlieir  hunger  for  the  bread  of  life,  and,  by 
this  very  feeding,  increasing  that  hunger  and  deep 
ening  their  resolves  to  turn  the  anticipated  victory 
of  their  foes  into  overwhelming  discomfiture ! 

THE  MIXE  l*REPAIiIJVG. 

Before  the  keystone  of  the  prelatic  arch  was  laid, 
Charles  determined  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  scene  of 
his  future  triumph.  And  taking  with  him  his  evil 
genius,  Laud,  on  the  17th  of  May,  1633,  he  set  out 
from  London,  his  train  consisting  of  "  thirteen  no- 
blemen— the  vice  chamberlain,  secretary  of  state, 
master  of  the  prince's  purse,  two  bishops,  a  clerk 
of  the  closet,  two  gentlemen  ushers  of  the  prince's 
chamber,  six  chaplains,  two  physicians,  two  sur- 
geons, one  apothecary,  sixty-one  yeomen  of  the 
guard,  eight  cooks,  seventeen  musicians,^'  and 
others,  in  all  about  five  hundred  —  and  swept 
northward  throu";!!  Eno-land  with  the  state  of  an 
emperor.  At  length,  on  Saturday,  the  15th  of 
June,  he  entered  Edinburgh  by  the  West  Port,  and 
was  ^velcomed  with  that  enthusiasm  so  easy  to 
worshippers  of  royalty  and  so  hard  for  simple  re- 
publicanism to  understand.  On  Tuesday  he  was 
inaugurated  in  the  midst  of  ceremonies  that  too 
ominously  reminded    the   Scottish    masses   of  the 


432  JENNY  QEDDE8. 

meretricious  gewgawry  of  Rome — bishops  arrayed 
ill  long,  silken,  embroidered  robes,  with  white 
rochets,  lawn  sleeves  and  loops  of  gold — an  altar 
on  which  were  placed  two  chandeliers  and  two  un- 
lighted  wax  tapers  and  an  empty  silver  basin,  and 
behind  it  a  rich  tapestry  on  which  a  crucifix  was 
embroidered,  the  bishops  as  they  passed  bowing  the 
knee.  Spotswood  set  the  crown  on  the  king's 
head,  while  the  poor  archbishop  of  Glasgow,  who 
had  not  decked  himself  with  becoming  tinsel,  was 
violently  pulled  from  his  seat  by  order  of  the  lamb- 
like Laud. 

Charles  had  no  reason  to  be  dissatisfied  with  his 
welcome,  and  the  apparent  enthusiasm  went  far  to 
deceive  him  as  to  the  real  feelings  of  the  people, 
multitudes  of  whom  wept  or  scowled  in  their  hearts 
while  smiles  covered  their  faces. 

The  next  day  the  Parliament  assembled,  the 
members  marching  in  grand  procession  in  company 
with  his  majesty  up  High  street,  through  the  outer 
door  of  the  high  Tol booth,  the  king  entering  first 
and  sitting  down  upon  his  tribunal,  and  lords  and 
bishops  following.  The  king  had  already  laid  his 
plans  to  secure  if  possible  unopposed  assent  to  his 
measures.  Ten  Englishmen,  Laud  among  them, 
were  introduced  into  the  privy  council.    The  Lords 


THE  CONFLICT.  433 

of  the  Articles  embraced  those  most  subservient  to 
the  king.  The  Parliament,  by  its  first  act,  granted 
Charles  the  largest  subsidy  ever  yet  given  to  a 
Scottish  king.  And  then  was  introduced  "An  act 
aneiit  his  majesty's  royal  prerogative  and  apparel 
of  churchmen" — a  bit  of  kingcraft  combining  the 
two,  so  as  to  compel  assent  to  or  rejection  of  both. 
The  Assembly  was  only  too  willing  to  allow  any- 
thing in  the  way  of  prerogative,  but  to  swallow  the 
whole  wardrobe  of  prelatic  millinery  was  a  little 
too  much.  The  earl  of  Rothes  called  for  a  division 
of  the  act,  and  expressed  his  readiness  to  vote  for 
the  prerogative  clause.  The  aged  Lord  Melville 
exclaimed,  "  I  have  sworn  with  your  father  and 
the  whole  kingdom  to  the  Confession  of  Faith,  in 
which  the  innovations  intended  in  these  articles 
were  abjured.''  Charles,  taken  by  surprise,  retired 
for  a  while,  and,  retuiiiing,  ordered  the  members 
to  vote  without  debate.  Rothes  attempting,  how- 
ever, to  show  that  the  second  clause  was  opposed 
to  the  liberties  of  the  Church,  the  king  silenced 
him,  and  drawing  forth  a  list  he  exclaimed  : 

"  I  have  your  names  all  here,  and  I  shall  know 
to-day  who  will  not  do  me  service." 

The  question  was  then  put,  and  Rothes  voted 
*^  not  content."     His  manly  example  was  followed 

28 


434  JENNY  GEDDES. 

by  fifteen  earls  and  lords,  several  barons  and  forty- 
four  commissioners  of  counties  and  burghs,  consti- 
tuting a  decided  majority.  This  the  king  must 
have  known,  for  he  held  the  list  in  his  hand  and 
marked  the  votes  himself.  But  the  sycophantic 
clerk,  seeing  an  opportunity  of  buying  royal  favour 
at  the  cheap  price  of  a  falsehood,  affirmed  that  the 
motion  was  carried,  and  the  king,  with  the  regard 
for  veracity  and  honesty  that  characterized  the 
Stuart  race,  confirmed  the  report  of  the  clerk. 
Eothes  affirmed  the  contrary,  but  the  king  de- 
clared that  the  vote  must  stand  unless  Rothes 
would  accuse  the  clerk  of  falsifying  the  record, 
which  was  a  capital  offence,  and  subjected  the  ac- 
cuser to  the  penalty  of  death  if  he  fiiiled  to  make 
good  the  charge.  Rothes  declined  the  perilous 
duty.  Thus,  through  falsehood,  in  league  with 
despotism,  the  act  became  a  law. 

The  enthusiasm  with  which  the  Scotch  had 
hailed  the  king's  arrival  now  gave  place  to  scowls 
and  murmurs.  Even  the  king  did  not  fail  to  per- 
ceive the  change,  which  drew  from  Bishop  Leslie 
the  comforting  remark : 

,  "  The  Scots  are  like  the  Jews — they  cry  '  Ho- 
sanna  !'  one  day  and  '  Crucify  him  !'  the  next. 

The  lords,  disgusted  at  the  treatment   they  had 


THE   COSFLICT.  435 

undergone,  drew  up  a  supplication  to  the  king,  ex- 
plaining their  conduct  and  remonstrating  against 
the  way  in  which  their  deliberations  had  been  over- 
awed. But  the  king  refused  to  look  at  it,  but 
proved  afterward  that  he  neither  forgot  nor  for- 
gave their  manliness. 

The  oppressed  ministers  also  came  together  at 
Edinburgh  to  consult  upon  a  proposition  to  pe- 
tition the  king  and  Parliament  for  a  redress  of 
grievances.  A  petition  was  accordingly  drawn, 
entitled  "  Grievances  and  petition  concerning  the 
disordered  state  of  the  Reformed  Church  within 
the  realm  of  Scotland."  This  petition  the  clerk- 
register,  a  fierce  prelatist,  with  quiet  insolence  put 
in  his  pocket.  Another  was  then  drawn,  in  which 
the  former  was  alluded  to,  and  Mr.  Thomas  Hogg 
presented  it  in  person  to  the  king.  He  looked 
over  it,  and  let  it  pass  without  farther  notice. 
Deeply  wounded  by  such  treatment,  the  ministers 
waited  on  the  members  of  Parliament,  and  found 
many  of  the  influential  members  quite  ready  to 
listen  to  them.  The  king's  conduct  now  became 
the  subject  of  general  and  angry  discussion,  and 
the  public  mind  began  to  heave  with  half-stifled 
indignation.  Hounded  on  by  the  prelates,  his 
majesty  not  only  took  no  pains  to  conceal  his  dis- 


436  JENNY  GEDDES. 

like  of  the  lords  who  had  voted  against  his  mea- 
sure in  Parliament,  but,  by  his  disdainful  treat- 
ment, made  them  for  ever  his  enemies.  Among 
other  bits  of  royal  courtliness,  when  Rothes  and 
others  had  gathered  two  thousand  horsemen  splen- 
didly equipped  to  greet  the  king  along  his  pro- 
posed line  of  advance  through  the  country,  Charles 
kept  them  waiting  for  hours,  and  then  contemptu- 
ously avoided  them  by  taking  a  byway. 

At  length,  having  succeeded  during  his  stay  in 
Scotland  in  filling  the  great  body  of  the  nobles  and 
people  with  aversion,  he  went  back  to  England  to 
encounter  the  scowls  with  which  his  arbitrary 
temper  and  tyrannical  schemes  had  clothed  the 
brows  of  his  English  subjects. 

As  if  to  make  sure  that  his  Scottish  subjects 
should  not  forget  his  insulting  conduct,  he  deter- 
mined to  set  up  a  monument  to  keep  it  in  theii 
remembrance.  Accordingly,  he  erected  Edinburgh 
into  a  separate  bishopric;  and  William  Forbes, 
full  of  prelatic  hauteur,  was  honoured  with  the 
mitre.  A  new  broom  sweeps  clean,  and  this  broom, 
new  or  old,  would  leave  no  Presbyterian  dust  with- 
in sight  of  his  palace.  The  king  had  honoured 
him,  and  he  would  gratify  the  king,  and  at  once  he 
laid  every  minister  within  reach  of  his  power,  who 


THE  CONFLICT.  437 

could  be  cowed  to  submission,  on  the  Procrustean 
bed  of  the  Perth  articles,  and  elongated  or  ampu- 
tated him  to  suit  its  dimensions.  And,  in  the 
weakness  of  poor  human  nature,  many  submitted, 
but  in  the  strength  of  Christ  many  resisted ;  and 
not  only  resisted,  but  boldly,  in  the  name  of  God, 
M-arned  the  proud  prelate  of  the  divine  wrath  for 
thus  crushing  the  conscience  of  the  saints.  Nor 
was  the  warning  groundless,  for,  ere  he  had  time 
by  persecution  to  rebuke  his  rebukers,  after  flaunt- 
ing his  robes  about  ten  weeks  in  the  face  of  the 
people,  he  was  called  to  exchange  them  for  his 
shroud. 

And  now,  as  if  the  fire  of  indignation  kindled 
in  Scotland  during  his  inauspicious  visit  was  in 
danger  of  dying  out  Charles  managed  to  heap 
fresh  fuel  on  the  flame  by  one  of  those  acts  in 
which  the  Stuarts  were  so  skilled.  Lord  Balma- 
rino  had  procured  a  copy  of  the  petition  and  re- 
monstrance presented  to  the  king  on  the  matter  of 
his  treatment  of  Parliament  in  the  passage  of  the 
"Prerogative  and  Apparel  Act,"  and  retained  it  in 
possession,  hoping  by  softening  some  of  its  expres- 
sions yet  to  make  it  productive  of  relief.  For  this 
purpose  he  entrusted  it  to  a  legal  friend  to  exam- 
ine it  and  suggest  modifications,  under  pledge  to 


438  JEXXY  GEDDES. 

allow  no  eye  but  his  own  to  see  it.  This  friend 
showed  it  to  Hay  of  Naughton  under  like  promise 
of  secresy.  Hay  stole  a  copy  and  hastened  with  it 
to  Spotswood  ;  and  Spotswood,  full  of  unholy  zeal, 
mounted  his  horse  on  Sunday  morning  and  flew 
post-haste  with  it  to  London,  announcing  the  fear- 
ful tidings  that  the  lords  were  yet  bent  on  the 
crime  of  petitioning;  and  the  king,  to  Spotswood's 
joy,  at  once  resolved  on  wreaking  vengeance  upon 
Balmarino.  The  zeal  of  Spotswood  in  this  matter 
is  explained  by  the  fact  that  Balmarino's  estates 
consisted  largely  of  lauds  once  the  property  of  the 
Church,  and  could  the  latter  be  condemned  for  se- 
ditious practices,  the  archbishop's  purse  might  be 
replenished.  There  was  a  law  in  Scotland  making 
it  a  capital  offence  to  sow  dissension  between  the 
king  and  the  government,  or  even  to  know,  without 
disclosing  the  fact,  the  author  of  any  such  seditious 
matter.  Under  this  law  Spotswood  and  Charles 
determined  that  Balmarino  should  lose  his  head. 
To  the  earl  of  Traquair,  lord  treasurer,  an  able 
man  and  an  eloquent  speaker,  and  unhindered  by 
any  excessive  tenderness  of  conscience,  the  manage- 
ment of  the  trial  was  entrusted.  To  make  the 
matter  sure,  this  unscrupulous  contriver  managed 
to  secure  such  a  jury  as  he  thought  he  could  trust, 


THE  CONFLICT.  439 

and  besides  this  got  appointed  as  assessors  to  the 
justice-general  several  ^f  the  personal  foes  of  the 
accused.  Balmarino  pleaded  his  own  cause,  tell- 
ing the  whole  story  about  the  petition.  While 
the  verdict  was  under  consideration,  Gordon  of 
Buckie,  a  very  aged  man,  who  in  earlier  days  had 
displayed  daring  ferocity  of  character,  rose  and 
said: 

"  This  is  a  matter  of  blood,  and  would  lie  heavy 
on  them  as  long  as  they  lived.  *  I  in  my  youth  was 
drawn  in  to  shed  blood,  for  which  I  obtained  the 
king's  pardon,  but  it  cost  me  much  more  to  obtain 
that  of  God.  It  has  gi  ven  me  many  sorrowful  hours, 
both  by  night  and  day.' 

"  The  tears,  as  he  spoke,  rolled  down  his  fur- 
rowed cheeks,  and  for  a  time  the  chill  of  sympa- 
thetic horror  held  the  guilty  conclave  silent.''  At 
length,  after  much  discussion,  seven  of  the  jury 
voted  for  acquittal  and  seven  for  condemnation. 
Traquair  gave  the  casting  vote  of  guilty,  and  the 
sentence  of  death  immediately  followed,  its  execu- 
tion being  delayed  till  the  pleasure  of  the  king 
could  be  known. 

An  intense  interest  was  excited  in  the  public 
mind  by  this  iniquitous  trial,  and  when  the  result 
was  known  a  storm  of  indignation  burst  from  the 


440  JENNY  QEDDES. 

lips  of  men.  Secret  meetings  were  held,  at  which 
it  was  resolved  either  to  force  the  prison  and  set  tlie 
condemned  man  at  liberty,  or,  if  this  failed,  to  re- 
venge his  death  by  taking  the  lives  of  the  judges 
and  jurors  who  condemned  him,  and  to  set  fire  to 
their  houses.  The  wretch  Traquair,  perceiving  the 
danger,  hastened  like  a  coward  to  the  king  and  de- 
clared that  though  Balmarino  deserved  death,  yet 
his  execution,  in  the  present  state  of  Scotland, 
would  be  replete  with  danger,  and  begged  for  his 
pardon;  and  the  king,  having  in  England  as  much 
on  his  hands  as  he  could  well  manage,  reluctantly 
withdrew  his  hand  from  the  throat  of  his  victim, 
and  granted  him  a  pardon. 

But  the  mischief  had  already  been  wrought.  The 
people  had  been  certified  beyond  all  room  for  doubt 
of  the  tyrannical  arbitrariness  of  the  king,  who 
could  brook  not  even  the  opposition  that  took  the 
form  of  humble  supplication;  and  they  had  been 
compelled  to  see  that  his  majesty  could  be  satisfied 
with  nothing  but  the  subjection  of  the  realm  to 
English  Prelacy.  Even  the  lords  who  abominated 
the  rigid  moralities  of  Presbyterian  rule  were  com- 
pelled to  acknowledge  to  themselves  that  even  this 
was  infinitely  preferable  to  the  dominion  of  those 
who,  while  they  easily  tolerated  all  moral  iniquities 


THE  CONFLICT.  441 

in  others,  were  themselves  the  malignant  foes  of  all 
freedom,  civil  and  religious. 

To  the  ever-growing  indignation  of  nobles  and 
people,  however,  the  prelates  were  judicially  blind- 
ed. Reluctantly  releasing  Balmarino,  they  now 
set  themselves  to  procure  a  book  of  canons  for  the 
government  of  the  Church,  and  a  liturgy  for  its 
form  of  worship.  From  such  a  step  Spotswood 
and  the  more  cautious  prelates  shrunk  with  well- 
grounded  fear.  But,  encouraged  by  Laud,  the  more 
reckless  carried  the  day.  Some  wished  to  transfer 
the  English  system  bodily  to  Scotland,  but  yield- 
ing to  the  suggestion  that  the  simple  fact  that  the 
scheme  came  from  England  would  increase  the 
probabilities  of  resistance,  they  agreed  that  a  frame- 
work should  be  shaped  in  Scotland  and  transmitted 
to  England  for  revision  under  the  eye  of  Laud  and 
his  coadjutors.  In  the  mean  time,  Spotswood, 
on  the  death  of  the  former  chancellor,  secured 
his  own  appointment  to  that  office,  while  Max- 
well, bishop  of  Ross,  was  made  lord  treasurer,  and 
nine  prelates  were  made  members  of  the  privy 
council. 

Mistaking  the  sullen  gloom  of  calm,  deep-lying 
discontent  and  indignation  for  brokenness  of  spirit 
and  hopeless  submission,  the  prelates  carried  mat- 


442  JENNY  G  ED  DBS. 

ters  with  a  liigh  haiul  and  an  oiitstretclieJ  arm. 
Inquisitorial  courts,  subordinate  to  the  High  Com- 
mission, were  erected.  By  one  of  these  courts 
Alexander  Gordon,  of  Earlston,  was  fined  and  ban- 
islied  because  he  opposed  the  settlement  of  a  minis- 
ter repudiated  by  the  parish ;  and  because  Kobert 
Glendinning,  seventy-nine  years  old,  would  neither 
conform  to  the  wishes  of  the  persecuting  party  nor 
admit  an  innovator  into  his  pulpit,  and  because 
the  magistrates  would  hear  and  would  not  incarce- 
rate their  beloved  pastor,  both  magistrates  and  pas- 
tor were  sent  to  prison.  And  feeling  themselves 
firm  in  the  saddle,  with  haughty  superciliousness 
the  prelates  rode  sneeringly  over  "  dissenters,"  lay 
and  clerical. 

In  April  of  1635  a  convocation  of  prelates  met 
in  Edinburgh  to  give  shape  to  that  important  en- 
gine of  oppression,  the  Book  of  Canons.  It  was 
high  time  that  Presbyterianism  be  removed,  root 
and  branch,  for,  till  this  was  done,  Charles  could 
not  sleep  with  a  quiet  conscience,  the  prelates  could 
not  exult  in  a  complete  triumph,  nor  co*ild  either 
king  or  prelate  be  quite  easy  from  the  fear  of  evil. 
Bishops  Ross,  Galloway,  Dunblane  and  Aberdeen 
having  done  their  best  upon  the  book,  Maxwell 
posted  with  it  to  London,  that  it  might  receive 


THE  CONFLICT.  443 

what  finishing  touches  it  needed  at  the  hands  of 
Laud  and  two  other  English  2)relates ;  and  then 
brought  back  the  treasure,  accompanied  with  an 
order  from  the  prerogative  royal  issued  under  the 
great  seal,  bearing  date  23d  of  May,  1635,  enjoin- 
ing its  strict  observance  on  all  the  dignitaries  and 
presbyteries  of  the  Church  of  Scotland.  This  book 
subverted  the  whole  constitution  of  the  Church. 
It  excommunicated  all  who  denied  the  king's  su- 
premacy in  matters  ecclesiastical,  and  who  should 
say  that  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  which  some- 
body was  going  some  day  to  write,  was  contrary  to 
Scripture,  and  all  who  should  assert  that  Prelacy 
was  unscriptural.  It  enjoined  all  ministers  to  ad- 
here to  the  liturgy  yet  to  be  written^  on  pain  of  de- 
position. It  decreed  that  no  General  Assembly 
should  meet  but  by  order  of  the  king;  no  ecclesi- 
astical matter  discussed  but  in  the  prelatic  courts ; 
no  private  meetings,  conventicles,  presbyteries  or 
sessions  held  for  expounding  Scripture,  and  that 
on  no  public  occasion  should  a  minister  pray  but 
from  the  book!  Minute  arrangements  were  also 
decreed  respecting  forms  and  ceremonies,  fonts  and 
altars  and  ornaments,  and  whatever  "other  fool- 
eries Laud's  busy  brain  could  devise  or  fantastic 
Rome  suggest  f  and,  to  cap  the  climax,  all  this  was 


444  JENNY  GEDDES. 

said  to  be  compiled  from  former  acts  of  the  General 
Assembly  ! 

Verily,  now  Scotchmen  and  Scotch  Presbyteri- 
anism  must  have  become  something  other  than 
what  they  had  been  in  the  days  of  Knox  and  the 
Melvilles,  or  this  book  will  make  a  stir  among 
them  !  And  indeed  it  was  indignantly  condemned 
in  terms  the  most  unsparing,  while  many  of  the 
nobles  secretly  exulted  at  its  glaring  offensiveness, 
knowing  as  they  did  that  the  Scottish  neck  could 
never  be  made  to  bow  to  such  a  yoke.  The  mass 
of  the  people  looked  upon  it  as  popish  in  its  nature 
and  as  the  entering  wedge  of  Popery  itself.  But 
the  general  hostility,  instead  of  at  once  breaking 
forth  in  popular  tumult,  only  fed  itself  upon  the 
fuel  and  stored  up  force  for  the  hour  of  need. 

The  year  following  the  publication  of  the  Book 
of  Canons  was  spent  by  the  prelates  in  possessing 
themselves  of  every  possible  instrument  of  civil 
and  ecclesiastical  power,  and  by  their  persecuted 
victims  in  pleading  at  the  throne  of  grace,  and 
teaching  the  people  the  condition  of  things  and  the 
nature  of  the  present  and  impending  conflict.  In 
the  scramble  for  official  position  and  emolument 
the  prelatists  began  to  snarl  at  and  bite  each  other. 
Traquair,  who,  by  his  casting  vote,  in    heart  had 


THE  CONFLICT.  445 

murdered  Balmarino,  and  Maxwell,  the  new-fledged 
prelatic  zealot,  quarrelled  over  the  office  of  lord  high 
treasurer,  and  thenceforward  became  bitter  and 
irreconcilable  foes.  While  these  contests  went  on 
the  Book  of  Canons  was  in  a  measure  lost  sight 
of,  but  anti-presbyterian  zeal  soon  revived,  and  ere 
long  the  liturgy  which  Charles  had,  in  advance,  en- 
joined upon  the  Church  was  framed  by  Ross  and 
Dunblane,  on  the  model  of  the  English  Prayer- 
book,  and  of  course  transmitted  to  Laud  for  re- 
vision. Having  made  it  as  nearly  j)opish  as  he 
thought  Scotland  would  bear,  he  remitted  it  to 
his  faithful  imitators  across  the  border.  A  royal 
proclamation  also  followed,  commanding  all  faith- 
ful subjects  to  receive  with  reverence  and  conform 
themselves  to  the  public  form  of  religious  service 
therein  contained. 

The  keystone  was  now  let  into  the  arch.  The 
various  arbitrary  acts  of  the  king,  warmly  carried 
out  by  the  prelates,  crowned  by  the  Book  of  Canons, 
had  remodelled  the  government  of  the  Church,  and 
the  liturgy  had  done  the  same  for  its  form  of  wor- 
ship;  and  now,  at  last,  the  labour  of  two  reigns 
was  completed,  and  the  Scottish  Church  was  lying 
submissive  under  the  heels  of  Charles  and  Laud! 
Not  yet  ! 


446  JENNY  GEDDES. 

THE  IMJPJUKDIKG    ClilSlS. 

If  a  strange  seed  is  put  into  the  hand,  the  re- 
cipient must  possess  a  strange  power  of  insight,  or 
be  master  of  a  marvellous  process  of  analysis,  if  he 
can  determine  what  contents  lie  close-folded  in  its 
little  bosom.  And  the  crisis  now  impending  in 
Scotland  was  a  seed  destined  to  evolve  a  marvellous 
vegetation — a  tree  from  whose  prolific  houghs  the 
whole  world  was  to  gather  a  delicious  and  healthful 
fruitage.  To  comprehend  the  contents  of  this 
seed  we  must  take  into  view  the  political  situation 
into  which  Charles  I.,  helped  on  by  wily,  unscru- 
pulous coadjutors,  had  thrust  himself. 

Charles  had  inherited  to  the  full  the  despotic 
spirit  and  principles  of  James.  This  spirit  had 
been  inflamed  and  these  principles  urged  to  high 
development  both  by  the  character  of  contempo- 
raneous governments  and  the  mad  zeal  of  syco- 
phantic advisers,  and,  above  all,  by  the  inflated 
notions  of  divine  royal  right  instilled  into  his  mind 
by  his  prelatic  adulators. 

At  this  time  the  government  of  France  was  in 
the  hands  of  Cardinal  Richelieu.  On  his  accession 
to  power,  this  able  and  unscrupulous  ecclesiastic 
had  formed  the  purpose  to  make  the  crown  thor- 


THE  CONFLICT.  447 

oughly,  absolutely  despotic.  In  pursuance  of  this 
scheme,  he  seized,  tortured,  threw  into  prison  or 
put  to  death  all  who  ventured  in  any  way  to  with- 
stand him,  and  at  length  climbed  to  complete  suc- 
cess, and  delivered  the  nation,  bound  hand  and  foot, 
into  the  hands  of  the  king. 

Upon  this  millennial  condition  of  affairs  in 
France  Charles  looked  with  envious  eye,  and 
longed  for  the  hour  when  the  Anglican  spirit 
should  be  constrained  to  bow  to  the  despotic  rig- 
ours of  Gallic  rule.  It  vexed  his  royal  soul  be- 
yond endurance  that  he  should  be  hampered  and 
hindered  in  the  execution  of  his  own  august  will, 
while  his  brother  in  France  was  revellino^  in  a 
power  worthy  of  the  name.  Impertinent  Parlia- 
ments and  a  stubborn  people  were  always  in  his 
way.  The  English  people  unfortunately  had  been 
born  and  bred  in  the  air  of  constitutional  freedom, 
and  what  was  bred  in  the  bone  it  was  hard  to  get 
out  of  the  flesh.  But  a  consummation  so  desirable 
surely  could  not  be  impossible.  But  to  reach  it  he 
must  have  money,  and  little  or  no  money  could  he 
lay  hands  on,  except  as  it  was  voted  to  him  by  a 
free  Parliament,  and  tliis  Parliament  was  too 
shrewd  to  volunteer,  and  too  bold  to  be  overawed, 
and   too  powerful   to    be  coerced    into   a  vote   for 


448  JENNY  GEDDES. 

fetters  to  bind  its  own  limbs.  Thus,  finding 
tliat  E-ichelieuism  was  impossible  in  England,  ex- 
cept in  spite  of  Parliament,  he  resolved  to  dispense 
with  that  awkward  institution.  He  accordingly 
dissolved  it,  and  proceeded  to  levy  taxes  by  his  own 
royal  authority.  But  the  cow  proving  very  restive, 
and  yielding  milk  very  reluctantly  and  in  very 
small  quantities,  he  was  constrained  to  try  another 
Parliament,  and  finding  it  more  intractable  than 
the  former,  he  dissolved  it,  and  by  violence  and 
arbitrary  imprisonment  proceeded  to  levy  new 
taxes.  He  billeted  soldiers  on  the  people,  and 
substituted  here  and  there  martial  law  for  regular 
legal  jurisprudence.  Again,  under  stress  of  neces- 
sity, he  convoked  Parliament,  and  finding  it  proof 
alike  against  threats  and  bribes,  he  put  his  con- 
stitutional dissimulation  into  exercise  and  made 
liberal  promises,  and  bound  himself,  even  by  law, 
under  his  own  signature,  to  raise  no  more  money 
without  the  consent  of  the  houses,  to  imprison  no 
more  but  under  process  of  law  and  to  refrain  from 
coercion  by  courts-martial.  Parliament  was  filled 
with  joy;  but  in  three  weeks,  his  duplicity  becom- 
ing manifest,  Parliament  remonstrated  and  was 
again  angrily  dissolved;  and  now,  for  the  first  time 
in  English   history,  and  so  far  also  in  the  worst 


THE  CONFLICT.  449 

time  for  the  monarch,  Charles  set  himself  system- 
atically to  make  himself  a  thorough  despot,  and 
from  1629  to  1640  no  Parliament  was  called.  The 
king  had  covenanted  with  himself  to  become  lord 
and  master  in  Church  and  State. 

Louis  of  France  had  one  Richelieu ;  Charles  of 
England  had  two — Laud  and  AVentworth. 

Thomas  Wentworth  afterward  earl  of  StraflPord, 
was  now  about  forty  years  of  age.  Of  infirm 
health,  he  was  petulant  and  irascible.  Unscrupu- 
lous and  merciless,  of  great  abilities,  commanding 
eloquence  and  of  undaunted  courage,  he  was  pecu- 
liarly fitted  to  do  well  the  work  the  king  desired 
at  his  hands.  Having  been  also  a  distinguished 
leader  of  the  opposition,  "  he  perfectly  understood 
the  feelings,  the  resources  and  the  policy  of  the 
party  to  which  he  had  lately  belonged,  and  he  had 
formed  a  vast  and  deeply  meditated  scheme  which 
very  nearly  confounded  even  the  able  tactics  of  the 
statesmen  by  whom  the  House  of  Commons  had 
been  directed.  To  this  scheme,  in  his  confidential 
correspondence,  he  gave  the  expressive  name  of 
Thorough.  His  object  was  to  do  in  England  all 
and  more  than  all  that  Richelieu  was  doing  in 
France — to  make  Charles  a  monarch  as  absolute  as 
any  on  the  continent ;  to  put  the  estates  and  per- 

29 


450  JENNY  GEDDES. 

sonal  liberty  of  the  whole  people  at  the  disposal  of 
the  Crown;  to  deprive  the  courts  of  law  of  all  in- 
dependent authority,  even  in  ordinary  questions  of 
civil  rights  between  man  and  man,  and  to  punish 
with  merciless  rigour  all  who  murmured  at  the 
acts  of  the  government,  or  who  applied,  even  in  the 
most  decent  manner,  to  any  tribunal  for  relief 
against  those  acts.  This  was  his  aim ;  and  in  Ire- 
land, where  he  was  viceroy,  he  actually  succeeded 
in  establishing  a  military  despotism,  and  was  able 
to  boast  that  in  that  island  the  king  was  as  abso- 
lute as  any  prince  in  the  whole  world  could  be." 

The  other  member  of  the  English  triumvirate 
was  William  Laud,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  a 
little,  choleric,  unscrupulous  man,  who  hesitated  at 
no  measures,  however  unjust  and  cruel,  that  prom- 
ised realization  of  his  schemes.  When,  in  Scotland 
with  the  king,  the  magistrates  of  Perth  presented 
him  with  the  freedom  of  the  burgh,  and,  as  usual 
on  such  occasions,  tendered  him  the  oath  of  ad- 
herence to  the  Protestant  religion,  with  character- 
istic superciliousness  he  replied : 

"It  is  my  part  to  exact  an  oath  for  religion  from 
you,  rather  than  yours  to  exact  one  from  me." 
And  when  once  the  Reformation  was  mentioned, 
he  replied : 


THE  CONFLICT.  451 

"  Reformation  !     Better  say  Deformation  !" 

He  was  a  great  dreamer.  In  his  diary  be  wrote : 
'^  Sunday  night  I  did  dream  that  the  lord  keeper 
was  dead ;  that  I  passed  one  of  his  men  that  was 
about  a  monument  for  him  ;  that  I  heard  him  say 
tliat  his  lower  lip  was  infinitely  swelled  and  fallen. 
This  dream  did  not  trouble  me."  Again  he 
dreamed  that  he  Avas  reconciled  to  the  Church  of 
Rome. 

He  was  a  most  zealous  persecutor,  and  under 
him  Dr.  Alexander  Leighton,  father  of  Archbishop 
Leighton,  was  condemned  in  the  Star  Chamber  to 
have  his  nose  slit,  his  ears  cut  off,  and  to  be  whip- 
ped from  Newgate  to  Aldgate  and  thence  to  Ty- 
burn, and  kept  eleven  years  in  prison.  Respecting 
him,  Macaulay  writes : 

"  Of  all  the  prelates  of  the  Anglican  Church, 
Laud  had  departed  farthest  from  the  principles  of 
the  Reformation  and  drawn  nearest  to  Rome.  His 
passion  for  ceremonies,  his  reverence  for  holidays, 
vigils  and  sacred  places,  his  ill-concealed  dislike  of 
the  marriage  of  ecclesiastics,  the  ardent  and  not 
altogether  disinterested  zeal  with  which  he  asserted 
the  claims  of  the  clergy  to  the  reverence  of  the 
laity,  would  have  made  him  an  object  of  aversion 
to  the  Puritans,  even  if  he  had  used  only  legal  and 


452  JENJ^Y  GEDDES. 

gentle  means  for  the  attainment  of  his  ends.  But 
his  understanding  was  narrow  and  his  commerce 
with  the  world  had  been  small.  He  mistook  his 
own  peevish  and  malignant  moods  for  emotions  of 
pious  zeal.  Under  his  direction  every  corner  of 
the  realm  was  subjected  to  a  constant  and  minute 
inspection.  Every  little  congregation  of  separatists 
w^as  tracked  out  and  broken  up.  Even  the  devo- 
tion of  private  families  could  not  escape  the  vigi- 
lance of  his  spies.  Such  fear  did  his  rigour  inspire 
that  the  deadly  hatred  of  the  Church,  which  fes- 
tered in  innumerable  bosoms,  was  disguised  under 
an  outward  show  of  conformity.  The  bishops  of 
several  extensive  dioceses  were  able  to  report  to 
him  that  not  a  single  dissenter  was  to  be  found 
w^ithin  their  jurisdiction." 

Thus  in  Ireland  and  England  the  system  of 
"thorough"  was  pretty  thoroughly  realized. 
Church  and  State  lay  handcuffed  before  the  throne. 
"  The  judges  of  the  common  law,  holding  their 
situations  during  the  pleasure  of  the  king,  were 
scandalously  obsequious." 

The  two  great  additional  instruments  of  oppres- 
sion were  the  Star  Chamber  for  political  and  the 
High  Commission  for  religious  inquisition.  Through 
them  the  government  was  able  "  to  fine,  imprison, 


THE  CONFLICT.  453 

pillory  and  mutilate  without  restraint/'  A  council 
at  York  under  Wentworth  '^  was  armed,  in  defiance 
of  law  by  a  pure  act  of  prerogative,  with  almost 
boundless  power  over  the  northern  counties.  All 
these  tribunals  insulted  and  defied  the  authority 
of  Westminster  Hall.  There  was  hardly  a  man 
of  note  in  the  realm  who  had  not  personal  experi- 
ence of  the  harshness  and  greediness  of  the  Star 
Chamber,  and  the  tyranny  of  the  council  of  York 
had  made  the  Great  Charter  a  dead  letter  to  the 
north  of  the  Trent." 

With  so  firm  and  terrible  a  grasp  did  Charles 
now  hold  his  subjects  down.  They  were,  indeed, 
sufficiently  restive  under  the  yoke.  Irritation  in- 
flamed the  public  mind,  but  "men  had  become 
accustomed  to  the  pursuits  of  peaceful  industry, 
and,  exasperated  as  they  were,  they  hesitated  long 
before  they  drew  the  sword." 

"This  was  the  conjuncture  at  which  the  liberties 
of  our  country  were  in  the  greatest  peril.  The  op- 
ponents of  the  government  began  to  despair  of  the 
destinies  of  their  country,  and  many  looked  to  the 
American  wilderness  as  the  only  asylum  in  which 
they  could  enjoy  civil  and  religious  freedom." 

All  that  was  now  wanted  to  seal  the  destiny  of 
freedom  in    Europe   for  many  (and  who   can    say 


454  JFXXY  GEDDES 

how  many?)  a  long  day,  was  simply  time — time  to 
consolidate  the  despotism — time  to  familiarize  the 
minds  of  the  people  with  its  sway,  with  the  new 
methods  in  which  Charles  was  becoming  rapidly 
skilled  of  securing  revenue — time,  above  all,  to  es- 
tablish a  standing  army,  which  careful  economy  and 
avoidance  of  foreign  wars  would  soon  enable  the 
king  to  support.  Every  passing  day  was  hurrying 
the  English  Richelieu  toward  his  goal.  Indeed, 
even  now  the  king  could  look  almost  without  envy 
toward  his  brother  despots  on  the  Continent. 

There  was,  however,  one — insignificant  to  be  sure, 
but  still  one — Mordecai  sitting  in  the  king's  gate, 
who  must  be  humbled,  and  that  was  Scotch  Pres- 
byterian ism,  or  the  little  that  was  left  of  it.  It 
was  not  to  be  tolerated  that,  wdth  England  and 
Ireland  crouching  at  the  foot  of  the  throne,  this 
northern  bull  of  Bashan  should  toss  his  head  defi- 
antly and  refuse  to  submit  to  the  yoke.  But  the 
Book  of  Canons  and  the  Liturgy,  now  to  be  made 
the  lawof  Scotland,  would  supply  all  that  was  lack- 
ing to  complete  success ;  then  farewell,  freedom — 
then  all  hail,  despotism ! 

But  wdll  this  Presbyterian  ism  submit?  More 
than  once  during  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  when  con- 
tinental alliances  in  league  with  deep-laid  conspi- 


THE  COXFLICT.  455 

racy  among  tlie  English  Papists  had  prepared  the 
way  for  the  overthrow  of  the  Reformation,  the 
whole  scheme  had  been  thwarted  by  this  same 
Scotch  Presbyterian  ism.  ]\Iore  than  once  naught 
had  been  wanting  for  the  return  of  the  Papacy  to 
her  old  dominion  in  England  but  a  highway  for 
invasion  through  Scotland ;  but  Presbyterianism 
forbade,  and  the  billows  recoiled  to  break  them- 
selves in  impotant  wrath  upon  the  shores  whence 
they  were  first  precipitated.  And  now  the  time 
has  come  for  another  trial  of  her  strength  and  spirit. 
It  was  now  to  be  seen  whether,  weakened  and 
broken  as  she  seemed  to  be  by  protracted  and  cruel 
persecution,  she  would  meekly  submit,  or  whether 
she  would  rise  in  her  might  and  fling  Prayer-book 
and  Canons,  king  and  prelate  into  the  sea,  and,  as 
she  had  in  other  times  saved  the  Reformation,  now 
save  the  liberties  of  the  world !  AYith  Charles 
and  Laud  the  suggestion  of  serious  resistance  was 
preposterous.  Of  course  Scotland  will  submit ! 
"  Where,''  exclaimed  the  English  Rabshakeh, 
^^  where  are  the  gods  of  those  who  have  opposed 
us?  I  have  removed  the  bounds  of  the  people, 
and  have  robbed  their  treasures  and  put  down  their 
inhabitants,  and  there  was  none  that  moved  the 
wing,  or  opened   the  mouth,  or  peeped.     As  my 


456  JENNY  GEDDES. 

hand  hath  found  England  and  Ireland,  so  shall  my 
hand  find  Scotland  also." 

And  so  indeed  it  seemed.  The  two  books  had 
been  proclaimed  and  published  as  the  law  of 
church  government  and  worship,  and  what  oppo- 
sition was  shown  had  expended  itself  in  impotent 
murmurs  and  frowns.  Instead  of  violent  outbreak, 
there  was  naught  but  apparent  meek-spirited  sub- 
mission. 

THE  EXPZOSION. 

The  advance  of  the  king  toward  "Thorough"  in 
the  Church  of  Scotland  had  been  continuous  and 
sufficiently  rapid.  Taking  up  the  work  Avhere  his 
father  had  left  it,  he  had  pressed,  in  every  possible 
way,  subscription  to  the  Perth  Articles — had  laid 
his  plans  for  the  revocation  of  the  Church  lands  to 
secure  thereby  a  revenue  with  which  to  reward  and 
support  his  faithful  creatures,  the  prelates — had 
largely  remodelled  the  government,  displacing  from 
public  office  all  who  loved  liberty  and  the  national 
religion,  and  filling  their  places  with  men  eager  to 
carry  his  plans  into  execution — had  established  a 
Scottish  Star  Chamber  and  High  Commission — had 
visited  Scotland  and  ridden  roughshod  over  all 
who  had  shown  any  symptoms  of  opposition — had 
issued  the  Book  of  Canons,  and  had  now  proceeded 


THE  CONFLICT.  457 

to  the  final  act  of  the  drama  in  the  proclamation 
of  the  Liturgy. 

The  mere  proclamation,  however,  of  this  offen- 
sive instrument  of  tyranny  had  been  followed  by 
no  outburst  of  popular  indignation,  for  the  Liturgy 
had  not  yet  been  printed  off  for  distribution.  And 
the  apparent  apathy  of  the  people  served  to  deepen 
the  conviction  in  the  minds  of  Laud  and  Charles 
that  opposition  was  over  and  submission  complete. 
Some  of  the  more  wary  prelates,  however,  being 
nearer  the  scene  of  action  and  more  familiar  with 
the  temper  of  the  Scottish  mind,  w^ere  unable  to 
blind  themselves  to  the  signs  of  a  gathering  tem- 
pest. They  knew  too  well  that  among  that  people 
apparent  hesitancy  might  indicate,  instead  of  sub- 
mission, a  quiet,  resolute  gathering  up  of  the  pow- 
ers for  a  tiger-leap  into  the  midst  of  the  prelatic 
camp.  Among  a  people  largely  imbued  with 
Anglo-Saxon  spirit  great  national  upheavings  do 
not  begin  in  a  day.  Such  a  people  is  neither  un- 
thinking nor  impulsive.  Of  all  styles  of  human 
character  it  is  patient  and  enduring.  It  scans  great 
measures  long  and  well  ere  it  issues  the  decree  for 
change.  With  amazing  patience  it  weighs  great 
principles  in  the  balance  of  meditation,  and  endures 
the  lack  or  lopping  off  of  minutes  if  only  fundamen- 


458  JENyY  GEDDES. 

tal  principles  are  left  to  germinate  and  bear  fruit  in 
coming  better  clays.  But  though  an  ox  to  l)ear, 
once  aroused  it  is  like  a  lion  coming  up  from  the 
swellings  of  Jordan.  And  when  once,  the  cause 
manifestly  adequate  and  the  necessity  resistlessly 
urgent,  it  has  girded  on  the  harness,  it  will  rarely 
put  off  that  harness  again  until  satisfied  that  an 
end  has  been  reached  worthy  of  the  sacrifice  wrung 
from  it  in  the  execution  of  its  purpose.  A  Greek 
or  Gallic  community  will  burst  into  revolution  one 
day,  and  then  undo  all  their  work  the  next ;  but  a 
people  such  as  that  of  which  we  speak,  like  the 
mills  of  the  gods,  if  it  grinds  slowly  is  pretty  sure 
to  grind  fine. 

And  the  grindings  of  this  mill  were  already 
heard  by  the  Scottish  Prelacy.  In  May  a  few 
copies  of  the  Liturgy  quietly  stole  out  to  the  light, 
and  found  way  into  hands  that  set  its  provisions 
between  the  New  Testament  on  the  one  hand  and 
the  ancient  system  of  Scottish  worship  on  the  other, 
and  the  result  was  anything  but  favorable  to  the 
Liturgy.  And  now,  to  forestall  opposition  by  intim- 
idating possible  opposers,  an  order  of  privy  council 
appeared  empowering  the  prelates  to  ''  raise  letters'^ 
of  outlawry  against  ministers  who  should  show  re- 
luctance to  receive  this  Liturgy,  and  commanding 


THE  CONFLICT.  459 

them  to  procure  two  copies  for  use  in  each  parish 
within  fifteen  days  after  the  order  came  to  hand,  on 
pain  of  being  held  and  treated  as  rebels  against  the 
king  and  the  law.  Over  this  order  even  the  coun- 
cil quarrelled,  the  only  two  lay  members  present 
against  eight  bishops  refusing  to  vote,  on  the  suffi- 
cient ground  that  they  had  not  even  seen  the  book. 
The  book,  in  the  mean  time,  was  keenly  scrutinized 
and  ably  criticised  both  in  and  out  of  the  pulpit, 
and  the  people  saw  that  it  was  the  popish  mass 
under  a  so-called  Protestant  imprimatur. 

But  now,  for  some  reason,  a  strange  delay  in  the 
action  of  the  persecutors  intervened.  The  day  on 
which  the  new  book  was  to  have  been  introduced 
into  the  pulpits  was  allowed  to  pass  by.  Where  is 
"  Thorough  ?"  What  is  the  matter  with  the  zeal- 
ots? The  truth  was  that  there  was  division  in  the 
camp,  not  unaccompanied  by  fear  in  the  bosoms  of 
the  captains.  This  delay  was  diligently  employed 
by  the  Presbyterians  for  the  further  enlightenment 
of  the  public  mind  on  the  nature  and  significance 
of  the  crisis.  Some  of  the  leaders  met  at  Edin- 
burgh to  arrange  plans  of  procedure  in  the  exig- 
ency. 

But  what  courajre  could  not  do  covetousness 
could,  and  lust  of  gold  precipitated  the  explosion. 


460  JENNY  GEDDES. 

Spotswood  was  sclieming  to  pocket  the  whole  of  the 
tithes  of  the  abbey  of  St.  Andrew's,  and  thus  greatly 
augment  his  own  income  by  diminishing  that  of 
others,  and  especially  that  of  the  duke  of  Lennox  and 
the  earl  of  Traquair,  the  treasurer.  Traquair,  who 
had  not  forgotten  the  efforts  of  the  proud  prelates  to 
drive  him  from  office,  now  saw  with  fresh  indigna- 
tion their  scheme  to  afflict  his  purse,  and  by  ex- 
erting all  his  influence  at  court  he  secured  an  order 
from  the  king  to  stay,  at  least  for  a  time,  this  pro- 
cedure of  the  archbishop.  Accordingly,  Spotswood, 
accompanied  by  his  brother  in  chagrin,  Lindsay, 
the  archbishop  of  Glasgow,  resolved  to  hasten  to 
London  for  redress  at  the  hands  of  the  king.  But 
w^hat  plea  would  be  most  likely  to  win  the  royal 
ear  ?  They  must  not  fail,  else  Traquair  would  tri- 
umph, and,  what  was  not  to  be  endured,  they  would 
lose  the  purse  at  which  they  grasped.  If  then, 
they  said,  we  can  only  tell  the  king  that  the  Liturgy 
is  enthroned  in  Scotland,  that  "  Thorough"  is  in- 
augurated, that  the  Scottish  masses  are  meekly  say- 
ing Amen  in  the  house  of  God  to  prayers  read  to 
them  by  prelates  and  prelatic  ministers.  Laud  Avill 
be  on  our  side  and  the  king  cannot  resist.  Thus 
while  wisdom  hesitated  and  courage  hesitated,  cov- 
etousness  drew  up  and  issued  the  decree  that  on  the 


THE  CONFLICT.  461 

following  Sabbath  notice  should  be  given  that  one 
week  from  that  day — viz.,  July  23,  1637 — the  Lit- 
urgy would  be  introduced  into  all  the  churches. 

During  the  intervening  week  the  long-continued 
silence  was  broken.  The  city  was  agitated  by  a 
swelling  commotion  that  reached  to  every  hearth- 
stone and  to  every  faithful  heart.  Pam2)hlets  were 
passed  from  hand  to  hand,  discussions  were  heard, 
condemning  the  Liturgy  as  a  piece  of  papistry,  and 
the  prelates  for  foisting  it  ujoon  the  people  without 
sanction  from  either  Parliament  or  Assembly.  Nu- 
merous meetings  for  consultation  and  prayer  were 
held  throughout  the  realm.  Cries  of  ardent  sup- 
plication went  up  to  heaven  in  many  a  closet,  in 
many  a  family  circle,  for  help  in  this  solemn  and 
trying  hour,  "  and  the  low  murmur  of  indignant 
Scotland's  voice  began  to  be  heard  like  the  awaken- 
ing thunder  on  far  distant  hills  or  the  deep  sound 
of  the  advancing  tide." 

The  day  came — big  with  the  flite  of  Scotch  Pres- 
byterianism.  Submission  now  would  fix  the  yoke 
securely  upon  its  neck  for  many  a  long  day  to 
come.  Li  Edinburgh  the  public  eye  was  chiefly 
fixed  upon  the  cathedral  church  of  St.  Giles. 
Thither  swarmed  the  crowds  on  that  memorable 
Sabbath,  packing   the  church  in  every  part.     A 


462  JENNY  GEDDES. 

profound,  melancholy  solemnity  brooded  over  the 
assembly.  The  dean  of  Edinburgh  entered  the 
pulpit  book  in  hand  and  surplice  on  his  person. 
The  book  was  opened,  the  dean  began  and  Jenny 
Geddes  responded.  Her  stool  flew  through  the 
air.  The  tempest  broke — the  long-gathering, 
long-smothered  tempest — and  it  stormed  and  hail- 
ed outcries  and  missiles,  and  St.  Giles  became  a 
bedlam.  The  prelates  fled,  pursued  by  the  long- 
insulted,  shamefully-oppressed  people. 

Through  the  next  day  the  commotions  continued, 
drawing  from  the  privy  council  a  proclamation 
prohibiting  all  tumultuous  assemblages  under  pain 
of  death,  and  enjoining  magistrates  to  use  their 
utmost  diligence  to  apprehend  those  engaged  in  tlie 
riot  of  the  preceding  day.  Edinburgh  was  laid 
under  episcopal  interdict.  Neither  preaching  nor 
public  praying  Avas  allowed  upon  week-days,  and 
all  public  worship  was  suspended  on  the  Sabbath. 

Scottish  Presbyterian  writers,  with  a  solicitous 
loyalty,  strive  to  make  out  that  this  riot  was  a  mere 
unpremeditated  outburst  of  popular  wrath,  con- 
fined to  the  populace.  And  no  doubt  this  was  not 
just  the  way  which  grave  divines  would  have 
chosen  for  the  utterance  of  their  dissent.  No 
doubt   they    withheld    their   hands    from  flinging 


THE  CONFLICT.  463 

church-stools  and  their  h*ps  from  coarse  and  vulgar 
vociferations.  But  just  as  little  is  it  to  be  doubted 
that  all  of  them  rejoiced  in  the  evidence  thus  af- 
forded of  the  stern,  unbending  opposition  of  the 
masses  to  the  Liturgy,  and  also  that  the  wisest  and 
gravest  of  them  were  sworn  in  their  own  souls  to 
resist  its  imposition  unto  death.  While  the  prel- 
ates were  either  cowerini^r  in  fear  or  eno:a2:ed  in 
mutual  recriminations,  tidings  of  the  Edinburgh 
outburst  flew  like  wildfire  through  the  realm, 
giving  the  welcome  signal  for  universal  revolt. 
The  people  saw  in  it  ''  the  cloud  like  a  man's  hand 
rising  out  of  the  sea,  soon  to  cover  all  the  skies 
and  descend  in  showers  of  new  life  and  energy. 
The  thrilling  fervour  of  the  people  told  their  long- 
oppressed  ministers  that  the  day  of  deliverance 
was  drawing  near,  and  that  they  had  now  but  to  ' 
guide  that  strong  national  feeling  which  was  rising 
in  its  might  to  burst  through  every  barrier.  Nor 
were  they  w^anting  in  their  duty  to  the  people,  to 
themselves  and  to  the  Church  of  their  fathers  in 
this  momentous  cj"isis.'' 

Everywhere  the  imposition  of  the  Liturgy  was 
resisted.  Alexander  Henderson — a  name  ever 
thence  venerated  among  Presbyterians — hastened  to 
Edinburgh  to  petition   for  release  from  the  odious 


464  jj!:nny  geddes. 

mandate,  and  there  met  commissioners  from  va- 
rious interior  presbyteries  sent  up  upon  the  same 
errand.  On  the  22d  of  August  their  petitions 
Avere  presented,  accompanied  with  letters  from  no- 
blemen and  gentlemen  from  all  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, urging  attention  to  the  petitions.  The  council, 
now  aware  of  the  actual  feeling  of  the  people,  an- 
swered them  respectfully,  though  falsely,  that  the 
charges  respecting  the  book  extended  no*farther 
than  to  the  buying  of  it — as  if  the  king.  Laud  and 
other  prelates  had  only  meant  to  become  a  great 
publishing  firm  and  had  taken  this  mode  of  vend- 
ing the  stock  on  hand.  The  council  then  wrote  to 
the  king,  informing  him  of  the  unwelcome  fact  that 
the  attemjot  to  enforce  the  Liturgy  scheme  was  too 
full  of  peril  to  be  further  pressed,  and  leaving  it 
to  his  royal  wisdom  to  determine  how  the  present 
storm  might  be  allayed.  But  the  king  was  not 
one  of  the  temporizing  kind.  He  bade  his  hire- 
lings onward.  The  Presbyterians  flocked  from  all 
parts  of  the  country  to  Edinburgh,  and  in  three 
days  twenty-four  noblemen,  many  barons,  a  hun- 
dred ministers,  commissioners  from  sixty-six  par- 
ishes and  from  many  of  the  chief  burghs,  and 
many  gentry,  were  there,  girded  with  true  Scottish 
resolution  to  defend   the  national  religion.      The 


THE  CONFLICT.  465 

whole  kingdom  was  aroused,  and  the  gathered  hosts 
united  in  one  formidable  petition  for  redress. 
This  petition  was  presented  to  the  council  and  sent 
to  the  king. 

Other  papers  were  drawn  up  expressing  the 
opinions  and  sentiments  of  united  Scotland.  Op- 
position on  the  part  of  the  city  provost  provoked 
further  popular  commotions  in  Edinburgh,  in 
which  all  classes  joined.  While  awaiting  the 
king's  response  various  meetings  were  held,  and, 
as  the  numbers  were  now  too  great  to  meet  in  one 
place,  they  separated  into  four  divisions  —  noble- 
men, gentry,  burgesses  and  ministers.  Each  meet- 
ing was  opened  with  prayer,  and  then  each  member 
answered  in  the  affirmative  to  the  question,  ^^Do 
you  disapprove  of  the  Service-book  ?''  But  instead 
of  favourable  answer  from  the  king,  there  came 
thunders  of  condemnation.  The  Presbyterians  now 
assumed  the  offensive,  and  laid  two  complaints  be- 
fore the  privy  council,  accusing  the  prelates  of 
being  the  cause  of  all  the  troubles  that  disturbed 
the  nation,  and  denouncing  the  Canon  and  Prayer- 
books  as  superstitious,  idolatrous  and  heretical ; 
demanding  redress  of  grievances  and  the  right  to 
worship  according  to  the  principles  and  doctrines 
of  the  Reformation.     These  papers  were  signed  by 

30 


466  JENNY  GEDDES. 

great  numbers  of  the  nobility  and  gentry,  and  by 
nearly  all  the  ministers  in  the  realm.  Opposition 
provoked  other  popular  outbursts.  The  Presby- 
terians now  proceeded  to  more  thorough  organiza- 
tion for  the  conflict,  by  forming  a  general  commis- 
sion to  represent  the  whole  Church  and  concentrate 
its  revived  energies.  This  commission  consisted  of 
all  nobles  willing  to  act,  two  gentlemen  from  each 
county,  one  minister  from  each  presbytery  and  one 
buro:ess  from  each  buro^h.  The  commission  was  to 
assemble  on  extraordinary  occasions,  and  it  ap- 
pointed a  sub-commission  to  reside  in  Edinburgh, 
keep  careful  watch  of  events  and  communicate  with 
the  general  body  ;  the  sub-commission  consisting  of 
four  noblemen,  four  gentlemen,  four  ministers  and 
four  burgesses,  and  being  styled  The  Four  Tables. 
Besides  this,  one  from  each  of  the  tables  formed  a 
Chief  Table  of  Last  Resort.  Thus  was  organized 
an  instrument  of  incomparable  vigilance,  prompt- 
ness and  efficiency.  And  now,  at  every  turn,  the 
persecutors  found  a  sternly-determined  Presby- 
terianism  standing  athwart  its  path.  Traquair, 
with  all  his  zeal,  could  not  find  a  horse  fleet  enough 
to  bear  him  to  the  place  where  he  might  issue  his 
proclamation  consigning  the  Four  Tables  to  the 
dishonour  and  penalties  of  treason,  without  finding 


THE  CONFLICT.  467 

the  Church  in  advance  of  him  with  its  solemn  pro- 
test. Then  came  the  solemn  renewal  of  the  CovE- 
JSANT.  The  25th  of  February,  1638,  found  Gray- 
Friars'  Church,  Edinburgh,  packed  within  and  en- 
compassed without  by  dense  masses  of  the  faithful, 
listening  wdth  aw^e  while  the  Covenant  w-as  read. 
A  deep  silence  followed,  which  was  broken  by  the 
stepping  forward  of  the  venerable  earl  of  Suther- 
land, who,  reverently  bowing  his  head,  put  his 
name  to  the  bond.  When  all  wdthin  the  church 
had  signed,  it  was  taken  out  and  laid  on  a  grave- 
stone, and  there,  above  the  ashes  of  dead  saints, 
multitudes  put  down  their  names  amid  sobs  and 
tears ;  some  adding  the  words,  "  till  death !''  and 
others  opening  a  vein  in  the  arm  and  signing  the 
deed  in  their  own  w^arm  blood !  The  Scottish  lion 
had  waked  from  his  slumbers ! 

And  at  last,  wrung  from  his  cruel,  despotic  heart, 
came  a  decree  from  the  \Aug  forhidding  ihQ  enforce- 
ment of  the  Book  of  Canons,  the  Book  of  the  Lit- 
urgy and  the  Five  Articles  of  Perth ;  and  then,  on 
the  21st  of  iXovember,  1638,  after  a  dark  parenthe- 
sis of  thirty-six  years,  a  Free  General  Assembly! 
It  met  at  Glasgow,  made  Alexander  Henderson 
moderator,  and  at  once  j)roceeded  to  the  cleansing 
of  the  Augean   stable.     The  corrupt  Assemblies 


468  JENNY  GEDDES. 

which  had  introduced  Prelacy,  were  an  milled— the 
Perth  Articles,  the  Canons,  Liturgy  and  Book  of 
Ordination  were  abjured,  and  with  them  all  Epis- 
copacy excepting  that  of  a  pastor  over  a  particular 
congregation.  Eight  of  the  prelates  were  deposed 
and  excommunicated;  four  more  were  deposed — 
kirk  sessions,  presbyteries,  synods  and  General  As- 
semblies restored  according  to  the  Book  of  Disci- 
pline; and  then,  having  completed  the  Second 
Eeformation,  and  having  appointed  another  to 
meet  the  next  year  in  Edinburgh,  the  moderator 
dissolved  the  Assembly,  adding  these  words :  *^  We 
have  now  cast  down  the  walls  of  Jericho  ;  let  him  that 
rebuildeth  them  beware  of  the  curse  of  Hiel  the  Beth- 
elite  r 

Thus  the  insignificant — almost  ludicrous — mis- 
sile from  the  hand  of  Jenny  Geddes  dealt  a  blow 
at  the  head  of  Prelacy  in  Scotland  from  which 
it  never  recovered,  nor  did  it  leave  the  head  of 
civil  despotism  unscarred ! 

Tidinp-s  of  the  outbreak  at  St.  Giles  and  the 
events  immediately  subsequent  filled  AYentworth 
with  chagrin.  Could  Laud,  the  proud  priest,  and 
Charles,  the — if  possible — prouder  king,  but  have 
kept  their  souls  a  while  in  patience,  until  ^^Thorough'' 
had  been  well  consolidated  in  England  and  Ireland 


THE  CONFLICT.  469 

and  quietly  stolen  in  upon  Scotland,  all  had  been 
well.  But  instead  of  driving  the  steed  with  mod- 
eration and  reason,  they  had  goaded  the  poor  horse 
to  death.  They  had  killed  the  bird  that  was  laying 
for  them  the  golden  egg.  All  was  now  thrown 
into  confusion,  and  what  had  been  already  gained 
was  now  in  jeopardy.  Still,  AYent worth  was  not 
the  man  to  put  his  hand  to  the  plough  and  then 
look  back.  The  Scotch  must  and  shall  submit ! 
But  for  this  the  king  must  have  an  army,  and  for 
tills  he  must  have  money,  and  for  this  he  must  have 
a  Parliament.  Accordingly,  a  Parliament  was  called, 
and,  beginning  to  talk  of  grievances,  was  dissolved. 
But  the  king  must  have  an  army.  Hence  soldiers 
were  enlisted  and  money  exacted  by  force,  and  even 
by  torture.  His  troops  set  out.  The  Scots  in- 
vaded England.  Murmurs  broke  out  on  all  sides 
in  the  king's  army,  and  the  king  was  compelled  to 
call  another  Parliament ;  and  before  it  adjourned 
Wentworth  and  Laud  were  impeached  and  executed, 
and  the  headless  trunk  of  Charles  cast  into  a  dis- 
honoured grave.  Thus  fared  it  with  this  proud, 
imperious  triumvirate!  But  the  liberty  of  the 
world  was  saved.  It  fared  with  despotism  as  with 
the  usurper  Abimelech.  As  it  was  warring  against 
Presbyterianism  and  went  hard   unto  the  door  of 


470  JEXNY   GEDDES, 

the  tower  to  burn  it,  a  certain  woman  cast  not  a 
piece  of  a  millstone,  but  a  church-stool,  upon  its 
head,  and  all  to  brake  its  skull.     (Judges  ix.  50-54.) 

As  to  the  actual  political  results  of  that  outbreak 
at  St.  Giles  there  is  no  disagreement  among  intelli- 
gent historians.  Macaulay  writes :  ^'  To  this  step" 
— that  is,  the  effort  to  impose  the  Liturgy  upon  Scot- 
land— "  taken  in  the  mere  wantonness  of  tyranny'' 
--a  wantonness,  however,  which  he  acknowledges 
to  have  been  part  and  parcel  of  the  ^'Thorough'' 
scheme — taken  ^4n  criminal  ignorance  or  more  crim- 
inal contempt  of  public  freedom,  our  country 
OWES  ITS  FREEDOM  !  The  first  performance  of  the 
foreign  ceremonies  produced  a  riot.  The  riot  rap- 
idly became  a  revolution.  Ambition" — for  this  let 
us  read  solemn  purpose  to  forbid  King  Caesar  to 
supplant  King  Jesus  in  his  own  blood-bought 
Church — "patriotism,  fanaticism" — for  this  read 
Presbyterian  loyalty — "  were  mingled  in  one  head- 
long torrent." 

Hallam  writes :  "  What  were  the  consequences  of 
this  unhappy  innovation,  attempted  with  that  igno- 
rance of  mankind  which  kings  and  priests,  when 
left  to  their  own  guidance,  usually  display,  it  is 
here  needless  to  mention.  In  its  ultimate  re- 
sults IT  preserved  the  liberties  and  oyer- 


THE  CONFLICT,  471 

THREW    THE    MONARCHY    OF    ExGLAND.       Ill     its 

more  immediate  effects  it  gave  rise  to  the  National 
Covenant  of  Scotland,  a  solemn  pledge  of  unity  and 
perseverance  in  a  great  public  cause,  long  since  de- 
vised when  the  Spanish  Armada  threatened  tlie 
liberties  and  religion  of  all  Britain,  and  now  direct- 
ed against  the  domestic  enemies  of  both/' 

The  able  but  eccentric  Carlyle,  in  his  Lectures 
on  Heroes,  writes  :  "  A  tumult  in  the  High  Church 
at  Edinburgh  spread  into  a  universal  battle  and 
struggle  over  all  these  realms ;  there  came  out,  after 
fifty  years'  struggling,  what  we  call  the  glorious 
revolution,  a  habeas  corpus  act,  free  parliaments  and 
much  else/' 

We  have  now  sketched  an  outline  of  church 
government  as  indicated  in  the  sacred  records,  and 
shown  its  proper  relation  to  that  of  the  State.  We 
liave  followed  Presbyterianism  in  Scotland  through 
a  portion  of  its  history  in  conflict  with  despotism, 
during  which  it  won  a  great  victory  for,  and  earn- 
ed, what  it  never  has  received,  the  admiration  and 
gratitude  of  mankind.  We  have  seen  it  moulding 
the  Romish  masses  of  Scotland,  moving  in  their 
degradation  and  ignorance  at  the  priest's  beck 
"  like  dumb  driven  cattle,"  into  a  people — a  peo- 
ple instructed  in  their  religious  nature  and  privi- 


472  JENNY  GEDDES. 

leges,  and  thus  incapacitated  from  fawning  subser- 
viency to  despotic  men.  We  have  seen  how 
Presbyterianism  could  burn  at  the  martyr's  stake 
in  the  persons  of  its  Patrick  Hamiltons,  George 
Wisharts  and  others,  and  how,  in  its  Knoxes  and 
Melvilles  and  their  compeers,  it  could  rebuke 
tyranny  to  its  face,  whether  it  came  in  the  guise 
of  a  beautiful  Queen  of  Scots  or  a  wretched  pe- 
dantic despot  James  YI.,  or  a  proud,  obstinate 
Charles  I.,  telling  them  that  Jesus  was  King  of 
Scotland's  Kirk,  and  calling  them  "  God's  silly 
vassals/'  We  have  seen  it  shaping  "  Confessions 
of  Faith"  and  "  Books  of  Discipline,"  that,  speak- 
ing from  God's  word,  to-day,  find  loving  echo  in 
millions  of  hearts.  We  have  seen  it  forming  cove- 
nants amid  prayers  and  tears,  and  signing  them 
with  warm  blood  from  freshly-opened  veins ;  and 
we  have  seen  it,  as  full  of  patriotism  as  of  piety, 
always  ready  to  sound  the  alarm  trumpet  whenever 
the  national  liberties  were  threatened,  goading  to 
action  the  indolent  if  not  treacherous  king,  and 
flying  to  arms  to  shed  its  own  blood  in  the  cause. 
And  last,  but  not  least,  we  have  seen  it,  when  the 
chains  of  despotism  were  forged  by  the  English 
triumvirate,  Charles,  Laud  and  Wentworth,  and 
fastened  upon  the  limbs  of  prostrate  England  and 


THE  CONFLICT.  478 

Ireland,  bursting  those  bonds  asunder,  flinging 
them  into  the  sea,  and  sending  the  world  on  to- 
ward enlightened  freedom — "the  habeas  corpus 
act,  free  parliaments  and  much  else."  And  now 
we  say,  God  be  praised  for  our  venerable,  noble 
New  Testament  Presbyterianism,  and  let  all  the 
people  say  A  men! 


APPENDIX. 


"Canons  of  Discipline,"  ptr^e  84. 

No  less  than  their  brethren  on  the  Continent, 
the  Scotch  Reformers  adopted  the  same  principle, 
and  in  the  ^'  First  Book  of  Discipline/'  drawn  up 
by  John  Knox,  Spottswood,  Douglass  and  others, 
in  the  year  1560,  and  then  "subscribed  by  the 
Kirk  and  the  lords,"  we  find  these  words :  "  It 
appertaineth  to  the  people  and  to  every  several 
congregation  to  elect  their  minister.  Altogether 
this  is  to  be  avoided,  that  any  man  be  violently 
intruded  or  thrust  in  on  any  congregation ;  but 
this  liberty  with  all  care  must  be  reserved  to  every 
several  church,  to  have  their  votes  and  suffrages 
in  the  election  of  their  ministers." 

The  "Second  Book  of  Discipline,"  which  was 
agreed  upon  in  the  General  Assemblies  of  1577  and 
of  1578,  which  contains  the  present  discipline  of 
the  Scotch  Establishment,  has  the  following  max- 

475 


476  APPENDIX. 

ims :  ^'  Election  is  the  choosing  out  of  a  person  or 
persons  most  liabile — suited — to  the  office,  which 
vaikes — is  vacant — by  the  judgment  of  the  eldership 
and  consent  of  the  congregation  to  whom  the  per- 
son or  persons  is  to  be  appointed.  The  liberty  of 
election  of  persons  called  to  ecclesiastical  functions, 
and  observed  without  interruption  so  long  as  the 
Kirk  was  not  corrupted  by  Antichrist,  we  desire 
to  be  restored  and  to  be  retained  within  this 
realm." — Baptist  Noel,  Church  and  State,  Har- 
pers' ed.,  p.  145. 

John  Knox,  pa^e  223. 
"The  change  of  times  has  brought  with  it  the 
toleration  which  Knox  denounced,  and  has  estab- 
lished the  compromises  which  Knox  most  feared 
and  abhorred ;  and  he  has  been  described  as  a 
raving  demagogue,  an  eneuiy  of  authority,  a  de- 
stroyer of  holy  things,  a  wild  and  furious  bigot. 
But  the  Papists  whom  Knox  grapj^led  with  and 
overthrew — the  Papists  of  Philip  II.,  and  Mary 
Tudor,  and  Pius  Y. — were  not  the  mild,  forbearing 
innocents  into  which  the  success  of  the  Reforma- 
tion has  transformed  the  modern  Catholics.  When 
their  power  to  kill  was  taken  from  them — when 
they  learnt  to  disclaim  the  Inquisition — to  apolo- 


APPENDIX.  477 

gize,  to  evade,  to  fling  the  responsibility  of  their 
past  atrocities  on  the  temper  of  other  times,  on 
the  intrigues  of  kings  and  statesmen,  or  on  the 
errors  of  their  own  leaders  —  then,  indeed,  their 
creed  could  be  allowed  to  subside  into  a  place 
among  the  religiones  licitce  of  the  world.  But 
the  men  who  took  from  Popery  its  power  to  op- 
press alone  made  its  presence  again  endurable, 
and  only  a  sentimental  ignorance  or  deliberate 
misrepresentation  of  the  history  of  the  sixteenth 
century  can  sustain  the  pretence  that  there  was 
no  true  need  of  a  harder  and  firmer  hand. 

"The  reaction,  Avhen  the  work  was  done  —  a 
romantic  sympathy  with  the  Stuarts  and  the  shal- 
low liberalism  which  calls  itself  historical  philos- 
ophy— has  painted  over  the  true  Knox  with  the 
figure  of  a  maniac.  Even  his  very  bones  have 
been  flung  out  of  their  resting-place,  or  none  can 
tell  where  they  are  laid  ;  and  yet,  but  for  him, 
Mary  Stuart  would  have  bent  Scotland  to  her 
purpose,  and  Scotland  would  have  been  the  lever 
with  which  France  and  Spain  Avould  have  worked 
in  England.  But  for  Knox  and  Burghley — those 
two,  but  not  one  without  the  other  —  Eliza])eth 
would  have  been  flung  from  off  her  throne,  or 
have  gone  back  into  the  Egypt  to  which  she  was 


478  APPENDIX. 

too  often  casting  wistful  eyes." — Froude,  vol.  x. 
p.  458. 

Demolition  of  Sacred  Edifices,  page  237. 

"Scarcely  anything  in  the  Scottish  Reformation 
has  been  more  frequently  or  more  loudly  condemned 
than  the  demolition  of  those  edifices  upon  which 
superstition  had  lavished  all  the  ornaments  of  the 
chisel  and  the  pencil.  To  the  Roman  Catholics, 
who  anathematized  all  who  were  engaged  in  this 
work  of  inexpiable  sacrilege,  and  represented  it  as 
involving  the  complete  overthrow  of  religion,  have 
succeeded  another  race  of  writers,  who,  although 
they  do  not  in  general  make  high  pretensions  to 
devotion,  have  not  scrupled  at  times  to  borrow  the 
language  of  their  predecessors,  and  have  bewailed 
the  wreck  of  these  precious  monuments  in  as  bitter 
strains  as  ever  idolater  did  the  loss  of  his  gods. 
These  are  the  warm  admirers  of  Gothic  architec- 
ture and  other  relics  of  ancient  art.  Writers  of  this 
stamp  depict  the  ravages  and  devastations  which 
marked  the  progress  of  the  Reformation  in  colours 
as  dark  as  were  ever  employed  by  the  historian  in 
describing  the  overthrow  of  ancient  learning  by  the 
irruption  of  the  barbarous  Huns  and  Vandals. 

"  But  I  am  satisfied  that  the  charges  usually  brought 


APPENDIX.  470 

against  our  Reformers  on  this  head  are  highly  ex- 
aggerated, and,  in  some  instances,  altogether  ground- 
less. The  demolition  of  the  monasteries  is,  in  fact, 
the  only  thing  of  which  they  can  be  fairly  accused. 
Cathedral  and  parochial  churches,  and  in  several 
places  the  chapels  attached  to  monasteries,  were 
appropriated  to  Protestant  worship,  and  in  the  or- 
ders issued  for  stripping  them  of  images,  idolatrous 
pictures  and  superstitious  furniture,  particular  di- 
rections were  given  to  avoid  whatever  might  injure 
the  buildings  or  deface  any  of  their  ordinary  deco- 
rations. It  is  true  that  some  churches  suffered 
from  popular  violence  during  the  ferment  of  the 
Reformation,  and  that  others  were  dilapidated  in 
consequence  of  their  most  valuable  materials  being 
sold  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  war  in  which  the 
Protestants  were  involved ;  but  the  former  will  not 
be  a  matter  of  surprise  to  those  who  have  attended 
to  the  conduct  of  other  nations  in  similar  circum- 
stances, and  the  latter  will  be  censured  by  such 
persons  only  as  are  incapable  of  entering  into  the 
feelings  of  a  people  who  were  engaged  in  a  struggle 
for  their  lives,  their  liberties  and  their  religion. 
Of  all  the  charges  thrown  out  against  our  Reformers, 
the  most  ridiculous  is  that,  in  their  zeal  against 
popery,  they  waged  war  against  literature  by  de- 


480  APPENDIX. 

stroying  the  valuable  books  and  records  which  had 
been  deposited  in  the  monasteries.  The  state  of 
learning  among  the  monks  at  the  era  of  the  Re- 
formation was  wretched  and  their  libraries  poor; 
the  only  persons  who  patronized  and  cultivated  lit- 
erature in  Scotland  were  Protestants ;  and,  so  far 
from  sweeping  away  any  literary  monuments  which 
remained,  the  Reformers  were  disposed  to  search  for 
them  among  the  rubbish  and  to  preserve  them  with 
the  utmost  care.  In  this  respect  we  have  no  reason 
to  deprecate  a  comparison  between  our  Reformation 
and  that  of  England." — McCrie's  Life  of  Knox. 


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